Lemon Myrtle

↑About Lemon Myrtle

Lemon myrtle, scientific name Backhousia citriodora, is an evergreen tree native to Queensland, Australia. Lemon myrtle has an intensely lemony aroma, and for this reason, it is used both as a tea on its own and in herbal blends with other herbs and/or true teas.

The aroma of lemon myrtle is similar to other naturally lemon-scented herbs, including lemongrass, lemon balm, and lemon verbena. Although not closely related, these plants all share many chemical components in common. Among these herbs, lemon myrtle contains the highest concentration of citral, a mixture of chemicals responsible for the lemony aroma.

When consumed on its own as an herbal tea, lemon myrtle has an intense lemon fragrance, and a strongly astringent mouthfeel, but like the other lemon-scented herbs, it does not impart the acidity of lemon juice. It can be blended with other, less astringent herbs, to result in a smoother mouthfeel, or blended with full-bodied black teas so that its astringency is less evident.

Lemon myrtle has a long history of use in food and medicine of the indigenous people of Australia. It has also been used to impart a lemon aroma to sweets and baked goods without adding the acidity of lemon.

Health benefits and medicinal uses

The health effects of lemon myrtle are likely similar to those of lemongrass, as it shares the largest active component, citral, which has been studied on its own as an active ingredient. Citral has been shown to induce apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells in as low a concentration of 44.5 μM, comparable to a cup of tea prepared from 1g of lemongrass.[1] Lemon myrtle tea is likely to have a higher concentration of citral than the infusions prepared from other herbs with lower citral concentrations.

The essential oil of lemon myrtle was also found to have significant anti-microbial effects, which were found to be stronger than that of citral alone, and were also found to be more powerful than that of Melaleuca alternifolia, the plant used to make tea tree oil.[2]

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