Melissa officinalis seedlings for sale

Melissa officinalis plant

Lemon Balm

Bot. name Melissa officinalis

Family : Labiatea

Other names:  Balm, Lemon Balm, Melissa Balm (USA), Balm Mint

Distribution : Sonamarag, Ramban (Kashmir Himalayas), Iran, USA, Pakistan. Egypt, Italy, Ireland.

Ecological notes : Grows on rich soils

Status :  Not so common

Details : The herb is commercially produced in Hungary and the oil in Ireland.

Melissa grows best in alluvial soil, excess water is harmful, while yields diminish in light and dry soils (Guenther).

Major producing countries : Hungary, Egypt, Italy, for herb Ireland for essential oil

Yield and description : Genuine Melissa oil is a pale yellow sweet smelling oil with an odour of aromatic lemon. Yields are as low as 0.014% for distillation of the fresh herb to 0.112% for dried herb, increasing to 0.13% using cohobation. True oil is extremely expensive. The oil is held in high esteem for its use in aromatherapy, it is reported to have a sedative effect. There is little use for the oil in perfumery, where the odour is readily suggested by blends of the very cheap oils of Lemon, Lemongrass and fortified by Citronella oil. According to Arctander the plant is known in Europe as "Hearts Delight" since infusions of the herb were supposed to cure heart disease and melancholia and this led to the late 1930's perfume "Cosur-Joie", which had a melissa like top note.

Uses : Infusions are made from the herb; the oil has several names (Oil of Balm, Oil of Lemon Balm, Oil of Melissa Balam, Oil of Balm Mint, Oil of Melissa Officinalis) and is used as a sedative in alternative medicine.

Cultivation details :  Planting is usually 40,000 plants/Ha. with propagation from seed. The plants have a life of 10 years but are usually replaced every five years with crop rotation to rejuvenate the soil. Propagation in the northern hemisphere is from April to July.

Harvesting period : In the first year the crop is in August, thereafter two crops are experienced. The first in June and the second in August.

Harvesting methods : Usually by hand on a clear warm day as the leaves will turn black if harvested wet. For good appearance leaves should not be left in the sun.

Post harvest treatment, preservation, storage pre-treatment : Weed control is recommended (Pank). It has been reported that, in Kashmir and Egypt, irradiating seeds has an effect on growth, essential oil content and composition. The quantity of herb was reduced but the oil content was increased, with the irradiation dosage varying the proportion of the constituents.

Preservation and storage : The oil should be stored in filled sealed containers, out of light and kept cool. The oil is subject to oxidation.

Processing method : Stainless Steel steam distillation retorts equipped for cohobation should be used to increase the yield.

Composition of oil : Many reports exist regarding the composition. An analysis, from New Zealand, given for Melissa officinalis L. subsp altissima (Dawson) not only gives a yield 0.33% but constituents totally different from those of Melissa officinalis L. subsp officinalis.

A summary of the composition is given by Lawrence as follows:

Compounds Percentage range

Methyl Heptenone 2.2 - 8.6

Citronellal 1.0 - 8.4

Linalool 0.5 - 2.7

Neral 19.6 - 36.1

Geranial 25.3 - 47.5

Geranyl Acetate 1.2 - 6.2

1.9 - 9.7

Carophyllene oxide 0.5 - 9.0

EQUIPMENT

Forage Harvester

Stainless steel distillation equipment

Melissa officinalis - Lemon Balm seedlings are available

For further information if you are interested in purchasing Seeds/Plants from the Jammu and Kashmir Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre, or to request more information :
email us. jkmpic@gmail.com, jkmpic@yahoo.in

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Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) seeds

English name : Seabuckthorn, Himalayan Details: Much branched spiny shurb, leaves oblong lanceolate or linear, silvery white beneath. Flowers one sexed occuring on different plants. Fruit orange red 6mm. Distribution : China, Mongolia, Russia, Germany, Canada, Iran and  Kashmir Satus: Un-common Ecological notes: Grows in riverine sandy soils. Chemical composition Juice The fruit of the sea buckthorn plant weighs between 270 and 480 mg and averages 350 mg depending upon cultivar and maturity (Li 1999). Pressing these berries yields 60% to 85% juice. Juice yield of 67% has been reported derived from centrifugal methods (Heilscher and Lorber 1996). The juice is very high in organic acids as reflected in the high levels of titratable acidity, and has a low pH (near 2.7). Quantitatively the most important organic acid is malic acid, but there several other minor acids have been reported (Beveridge et al. 1999). Protein levels are fairly high for a fruit juice and this probably explains the fact that sea buckthorn juice is a cloudy or opalescent product. Vitamin C content has been reported as high as 600 mg/100 g of fruit. Vitamin E content is 160 mg/100 g of fruit (Bernath and Foldesi 1992). Pulp and seeds contain triglyceride oils with important medicinal value such as superoxide dismutase activity in mice, which enhance the activity of NK cells in tumor bearing mice (Dai et al. 1987; Chen 1991; Degtyareva et al. 1991). Oil There are two sources of oil in sea buckthorn fruit: the seed which contains 10%–15% (w/w) oil and the pulpy fruit parts surrounding the seed which contains 29%–48% oil (T.S.C. Li, unpubl. data). Both pulp and seed oils from sea buckthorn vary in vitamin E content depending on whether derived from seed oil (64.4 to 92.7 mg/100 g seed), juice oil (216 mg/100 g berry), or from the pulp after juice and seed removal (481 mg/100 g berry). Carotenoids also vary depending upon the source of the oil. The seed oils are highly unsaturated with up to 73% or more of the fatty acids making up the oil being linoleic or linolenic (Oomah et al. 1999). Pulp oil is more saturated with about 38% of the fatty acids being palmitic, and 14%–50% of the fatty acids being palmitoleic acid. The difference between seed and pulp oil seems to lie in the relatively high content of C16 fatty acids in the pulp oil and the relatively high proportion of C18 fatty acids in the seed oil. Phytosterols Phytosterols are plant sterols with structures related to cholesterol and which are capable of lowering plasma cholesterol on consumption by humans. Elevated blood cholesterol is one of the well established risk factors for coronary heart disease and lowering this indicator can presumably impact heart disease incidence (Thurnham 1999). Phytosterols are the major constituents of the unsaponifiable fraction of sea buckthorn oils. The major phytosterol in sea buckthorn oil is sitosterol (b-sitosterol), with 5-avenasterol second in quantitative importance. Other phytosterols are present in relatively minor quantities. The total quantity of phytosterol is quite high in sea buckthorn and may exceed soybean oil by 4–20 times. It was reported that the total sterol content, varied between subspecies and collection sites, in the seeds, fresh pulp/peel, and the whole berries were 1200–1800, 240–400, and 340–520 mg/kg, respectively (Yang et al. 2001). Clearly, as a source of dietary sterol, sea buckthorn is worthy of further consideration. Sea Buckthorn cultivation : Sea buckthorn normally is transplanted or directly seeded in the fall or spring. It grows best in deep, well drained, sandy loam soil with ample organic matter. In arid or semiarid regions, water must be supplied for establishment. Soil acidity and alkalinity, except at extreme levels, are not limiting factors, although it thrives best at pH 6 to 7. Sea buckthorn is sensitive to severe soil moisture deficits, especially in spring when plants are flowering and young fruits are beginning to develop. Sea buckthorn, like other crops, requires adequate soil nutrients for a high yield with better quality berries. It responds well to phosphorus fertilizer (T.S.C. Li unpubl. data). Nitrogen fertilization can adversely affect root nodulation and it delays the development of nodules after inoculation with Frankia (Akkermans et al. 1983; Montpetit and Lalonde 1988; Bosco et al. 1992). Recommended plant spacing for sea buckthorn varies, regions with lower land values and bigger machines may consider larger spacing. In British Columbia, 1 m within the row and 4 m between rows was recommended. Rows should be oriented in a north-south direction to provide maximum light. The ratio of male to female plants is important for maximizing fruit set. Recommendations for male : female ratios vary with plant density and region. In Kashmir, with an orchard planting of 2500 trees/ha, a 1 male : 6–8 females ratio is considered adequate. Sea buckthorn flowers are wind pollinated. Moderate pruning is required to maximize yield and reduce yearly fluctuations. The crown should be pruned annually to remove overlapping branches, and long branches should be headed to encourage lateral shoot development. Weed control is very important in sea buckthorn planting, especially for promoting growth of newly planted seedlings (Li and Schroeder 1999). Planting/seed materials are always available for research purpose: For more details:- Sheikh GULZAAR Head The JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre POB: 667 GPO Srinagar SGR JK 190001 R&D division : Sonamarag (Kashmir) Ph: (Resi) 01933-223705 Mob: 09858986794 e-mail: jkmpic@gmail.com home: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com