Benefits
Sleep quality in adults with poor sleep
In a 90-day placebo-controlled trial in 71 healthy adults with sleep problems, 400 mg of extract taken 1 hour before bed improved sleep quality ratings, time to fall asleep and sleep efficiency, and wrist-tracker sleep measures. Night-time melatonin was also higher. The extract maker funded the trial and three authors worked for it.
Sleep scores with a lemon verbena syrup at bedtime
In a placebo-controlled trial in 100 adults diagnosed with insomnia, 10 mL of a lemon verbena syrup taken 1 hour before bed for 4 weeks improved sleep quality and insomnia severity questionnaire scores compared with placebo, with differences already seen at 2 weeks. The syrup was a different preparation from the capsule extracts in other trials, and only questionnaires were used.
Muscle soreness and strength after hard exercise
Two placebo-controlled trials gave 400 mg a day, starting 10 days before an exhausting workout. In 44 active adults (Recoverben), strength loss was smaller than with placebo, but muscle damage and inflammation markers did not differ. In 60 adults (Planox), soreness and muscle damage markers fell, but strength recovery did not differ from placebo.
Exercise-related oxidative stress markers
In small exercise studies, lemon verbena extract raised the activity of the body's own antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase, and lowered markers of oxidative damage in blood cells and plasma. These are lab markers measured in small groups of active young people, not proof of better performance or health.
Perceived stress and REM sleep time
In an 8-week placebo-controlled trial in 40 stressed adults with poor sleep, 400 mg of extract before bed lowered perceived stress scores and blood cortisol compared with the start of the study, but neither differed significantly from placebo. Tracker-measured REM sleep rose compared with placebo. Three authors worked for the extract maker.
Joint comfort in a blend with fish oil
In a 9-week placebo-controlled trial in 45 adults with joint discomfort, capsules combining lemon verbena extract with fish oil omega-3 improved pain, stiffness and function questionnaire scores from about week 3 or 4. Only 31 people finished, and because the product was a blend, the effect cannot be credited to lemon verbena alone.
Appetite and body weight as part of a hibiscus blend
Metabolaid combines lemon verbena with hibiscus. In a crossover trial in 33 overweight or obese adults, 60 days on a lemon verbena and hibiscus blend lowered hunger ratings and calorie intake at a test meal. A meta-analysis of 11 small trials, 7 of them using hibiscus blends, found lower body weight and blood pressure; its subgroups suggested blends did better than lemon verbena alone.
Mechanism of action
Verbascoside, the main leaf polyphenol
Verbascoside (acteoside) is a phenylpropanoid that makes up about 9 to 24% or more of the standardized extracts used in trials. It scavenges free radicals in the lab, and in human exercise studies the extract raised antioxidant enzyme activity in blood cells, one proposed reason for less exercise-related muscle damage.
GABA-A and adenosine signaling in mice
In mice, oral lemon verbena extract shortened the time to fall asleep after a sedative injection and lengthened sleep, and raised brain adenosine A1 receptor levels and gene activity for GABA-A receptor subunits, two systems that promote sleep. These effects come from animal work and have not been measured in people.
Night-time melatonin in one human trial
In the 90-day sleep trial, night-time blood melatonin was higher in the extract group than with placebo at the end of the study. It is a single maker-funded trial, so this is a possible explanation rather than an established mechanism.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; 400 mg extract (at least 24% verbascoside) or placebo 1 hour before bed for 90 days; funded by the maker, Monteloeder (Pérez-Piñero et al. 2024, Nutrients)
71 healthy adults with sleep disturbances (33 extract, 38 placebo)
Sleep quality ratings (6.5 versus 5.5 on a visual scale), Pittsburgh sleep index total, time to fall asleep and sleep efficiency (84.5% versus 79.8%) were better than with placebo, as were wrist-tracker measures. Night-time melatonin was higher (199.7 versus 174.7 pg/mL). State anxiety scores fell more than with placebo, while perceived stress and morning cortisol did not differ. Blood pressure and heart rate did not change, and routine lab tests stayed in the normal range. Three authors were maker employees.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; 10 mL lemon verbena syrup or placebo syrup 1 hour before bed for 4 weeks (Afrasiabian et al. 2019, Phytother Res)
100 adults diagnosed with insomnia in Iran
The Pittsburgh sleep quality index and four of its parts (time to fall asleep, sleep efficiency, daytime functioning, subjective sleep quality) and the insomnia severity index improved more than with placebo at 4 weeks (p < 0.001), with differences already present at 2 weeks. Outcomes were questionnaires only.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; 400 mg extract or placebo 1 to 2 hours before bed for 8 weeks, then a 4-week washout; three authors from Monteloeder (Martínez-Rodríguez et al. 2022, Nutrients)
40 adults with moderate perceived stress and poor sleep quality (20 per group)
In the extract group, perceived stress scores and cortisol fell compared with the start of the study (cortisol down 15.6% at 2 months), but stress scores did not differ significantly from placebo and cortisol only trended lower (p = 0.08). Sleep quality scores improved within the extract group, more clearly in women, and REM sleep on a wrist tracker rose compared with placebo.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; 400 mg Recoverben or placebo for 10 days before a jumping protocol and 4 days after; sponsored by Vital Solutions, which owns the ingredient (Buchwald-Werner et al. 2018, J Int Soc Sports Nutr)
44 healthy, sport-active men and women aged 22 to 50
Loss of muscle strength after exercise was smaller than with placebo (p = 0.031). Glutathione peroxidase activity and movement pain only trended better, and creatine kinase and IL-6 did not differ between groups. Adverse events were similar in both groups and none were serious.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; 400 mg extract (9% acteoside and isoacteoside) or placebo from 10 days before an exhaustive exercise test until testing ended; product supplied by Hänseler AG (Lee et al. 2021, Int J Med Sci)
60 adults (30 men, 30 women) in Taiwan
Glutathione peroxidase rose and creatine kinase, IL-6, the DNA damage marker 8-OHdG and muscle pain fell compared with placebo. Jumping power and maximal strength recovery did not differ significantly between groups.