tuneTypical Dose
400 mg nightly for standardized extracts in the small sleep and stress literature, or 10 mL nightly for the insomnia syrup trial
Botanical
Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citrodora
Evidence TierDWADA NOT PROHIBITED
watchEffect Window
Subjective sleep and insomnia-score changes appeared within 2 to 4 weeks in the better sleep-focused trial.
check_circleCompliance
WADA NOT PROHIBITED
Overview
Clinical Summary
Lemon verbena may help subjective sleep quality or stress in some settings, but the human evidence is still small, formulation-specific, and too weak for strong calming or insomnia claims.
Lemon verbena is marketed for sleep, relaxation, and recovery. Human data do exist, but they are scattered across different products and use cases, including an insomnia syrup, a standardized phenylpropanoid extract for stress and sleep quality, and a proprietary sports-recovery extract. That means the evidence supports only narrow, product-specific claims. It does not support treating generic lemon verbena as a proven sleep aid or anxiolytic.
Lemon verbena contains polyphenols and volatile compounds that may affect stress signaling, oxidative stress, and subjective relaxation. The mechanistic story is plausible, but the human evidence is still driven mainly by small, product-specific trials rather than a consistent clinical mechanism-to-outcome chain.
Outcomes
What This Is Expected To Influence
Primary Outcomes
- Possible improvement in subjective sleep quality
- Possible reduction in perceived stress
Secondary Outcomes
- Possible support for insomnia questionnaire scores in a syrup formulation
- Narrow proprietary-extract recovery signal after exhaustive exercise
Safety
Contraindications and Interactions
Contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Lactation
- Known sensitivity to concentrated botanical extracts
Side effects
- Mild GI discomfort
Interactions
No entries provided
Avoid if
- You are using it instead of evidence-based insomnia or anxiety care
- Pregnancy or lactation without clinician guidance
Evidence
Study-level References
lv-SRC-001Randomized controlled trial
Sourceopen_in_newAfrasiabian F, Mirabzadeh Ardakani M, Rahmani K, et al. Aloysia citriodora Palau (lemon verbena) for insomnia patients. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of efficacy and safety. Phytother Res. 2019;33(2):350-359. doi:10.1002/ptr.6228. PMID:30450627.
Population: Adults with insomnia.
Dose protocol: 10 mL syrup nightly 1 hour before bedtime for 4 weeks
Key findings: Improved insomnia and sleep-quality questionnaire scores versus placebo.
Notes: Best direct insomnia trial, but syrup specific and based on subjective measures.
Paper content
This four-week randomized trial in 100 adults with insomnia found that a lemon verbena syrup improved self-reported sleep quality and insomnia severity compared with placebo. The effect was visible by two weeks on questionnaire measures and extended to several PSQI subdomains by four weeks. The trial supports a possible sleep benefit, but it used a syrup formulation with specific essential-oil and flavonoid content rather than the capsule products more commonly marketed today.
lv-SRC-002Randomized controlled trial
Sourceopen_in_newMartínez-Rodríguez A, Martínez-Olcina M, Mora J, Navarro P, Caturla N, Jones J. Anxiolytic Effect and Improved Sleep Quality in Individuals Taking Lippia citriodora Extract. Nutrients. 2022;14(1):218. doi:10.3390/nu14010218. PMID:35011093.
Population: Adults with moderate perceived stress and poor sleep quality.
Dose protocol: 400 mg nightly 1 to 2 hours before bedtime for 8 weeks
Key findings: Reduced perceived stress and improved subjective sleep quality with a standardized extract.
Notes: Modern sleep and stress trial, but small and proprietary.
Paper content
In this eight-week placebo-controlled trial, 400 mg nightly of a phenylpropanoid-standardized lemon verbena extract reduced perceived stress and cortisol while improving subjective sleep quality. Wearable tracking also suggested more time spent in deep sleep and REM. The trial is useful for modern marketing-relevant sleep and stress claims, but the sample was small and the intervention was a proprietary standardized extract rather than generic lemon verbena.
lv-SRC-004Randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.
Sourceopen_in_newPerez-Pinero S, et al. Dietary Supplementation with an Extract of Aloysia citrodora (Lemon verbena) Improves Sleep Quality in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study. Nutrients. 2024;16(10):1523. doi:10.3390/nu16101523. PMID:38794761.
Population: Healthy subjects with sleep disturbances.
Dose protocol: Lemon verbena extract daily for 90 days (n=71)
Key findings: Significantly improved VAS sleep quality (P=0.021), PSQI (P=0.008), actigraphy sleep variables (P=0.001), and plasma nocturnal melatonin (P=0.048) versus placebo.
Notes: Longest and most comprehensive lemon verbena sleep trial. Adds objective and biomarker endpoints.
Paper content
This 90-day randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested daily lemon verbena extract supplementation in 71 healthy adults with sleep disturbances. The treatment group showed significantly better VAS sleep quality (P=0.021), PSQI overall scores (P=0.008), sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and actigraphy-measured sleep variables (P=0.001). Plasma nocturnal melatonin levels also increased significantly in the treatment group (P=0.048). This is currently the longest and most comprehensive sleep-focused lemon verbena trial, combining subjective, objective, and biomarker endpoints. The melatonin finding provides a plausible mechanistic pathway for the sleep benefit.
lv-SRC-005Randomized, double-blind, parallel groups trial.
Sourceopen_in_newJackson PA, Smith EF, Forster J, et al. Daily supplementation with lemon verbena extract decreases subjective energy and parental reports of hyperactivity in children displaying sub-clinical attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-type behaviours: A randomised controlled trial. J Psychopharmacol. 2025;39(8):825-835. doi:10.1177/02698811251324574. PMID:40251851.
Population: Healthy children aged 8-17 years exhibiting sub-clinical ADHD-type symptoms.
Dose protocol: 15 mg/kg/day lemon verbena extract for 56 days in children aged 8-17 (n=120)
Key findings: Reduced subjective energy (calming), lower depression symptoms at day 56, and trend toward reduced parent-rated hyperactivity. No cognitive impairments.
Notes: Novel pediatric application. Preliminary but extends lemon verbena beyond adult sleep and stress.
Paper content
This 56-day randomized, double-blind trial tested daily lemon verbena extract (15 mg/kg) in 120 children aged 8-17 with sub-clinical ADHD-type behaviors. The treatment group showed reduced subjective energy levels (interpreted as calming), lower depression symptoms at day 56 versus placebo, and parent-rated hyperactivity/impulsivity that approached significance. No cognitive impairments were observed and the extract was well tolerated. This is a novel application of lemon verbena beyond the adult sleep and stress literature, providing preliminary evidence for a calming effect in children with behavioral symptoms.
lv-SRC-003Randomized controlled trial
Sourceopen_in_newBuchwald-Werner S, Naka I, Schmid E, et al. Effects of lemon verbena extract (Recoverben) supplementation on muscle strength and recovery after exhaustive exercise. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018;15:5. doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0208-0. PMID:29410606.
Population: Healthy active adults aged 22 to 50 years.
Dose protocol: 400 mg/day around an exhaustive exercise challenge
Key findings: Reduced post-exercise muscle-strength loss for one proprietary extract.
Notes: Useful only for narrow recovery framing, not for general sleep or calming claims.
Paper content
This short exercise-recovery trial found that 400 mg per day of a proprietary lemon verbena extract reduced loss of muscle strength after an exhaustive exercise challenge. Biomarker support was mixed, with favorable trends for antioxidant activity and movement-induced pain but no clear between-group difference for creatine kinase or IL-6. The study supports a narrow sports-recovery signal for a specific extract rather than a broad claim that lemon verbena generally improves recovery.