4. May Prevent The Development Of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) can lead to vision loss, pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination as well as a host of other symptoms, whose severity and duration can vary from person to person. One of the main factors leading to the development of this condition is inflammation. Lemon verbena might help with this. One 2014 study, conducted in 30 patients, observed the effects of supplementing with lemon verbena (with a supplement containing all the herb’s antioxidant content). It was found, at the end of the study, that the most severe patients in the study with secondary progressive MS (the third of the fourth stage of MS) who took the lemon verbena supplement found that their C-reactive protein concentrations had significantly decreased. And considering the fact that C-reactive protein is produced in the liver and is a blood test marker for inflammation in the body, researchers postulated that the benefits of lemon verbena for MS comes from its ability to tackle and lower inflammation.5
5. May Help Stave Off Obesity
In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Obesity can lead to complications like diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.6 Managing one’s weight is, hence, important. And of late, research has found that lemon verbena might have the ability to help prevent obesity. One study, conducted in animals, looked at the ability of the herb’s antioxidant content, specifically that related to verbascoside (a plant polyphenol that exhibits antioxidant properties), to improve metabolic disturbances caused by obesity. Researchers found that lemon verbena extract prevented the accumulation of triglyceride, lowered inflammation, and fought oxidative stress. They also found that lemon verbena as a whole worked better than just the verbascoside alone.7
In addition to this, one 2017 study, conducted in 54 overweight
