A research review of human and relevant scientific studies on Aloysia citrodora.
Last reviewed: August 2026
🔬 Research Summary
- Sleep: A recent randomized double-blind study in healthy adults with sleep disturbance reported improvements in several sleep-quality measures after a standardized lemon-verbena extract.
- Stress & mood: Clinical studies have examined psychological stress and mood-related outcomes.
- Exercise recovery: Human research has investigated recovery, muscle soreness and oxidative-stress markers in physically active participants.
- Metabolic and antioxidant outcomes: Small clinical studies have measured glucose, lipids and oxidative-stress biomarkers.
- Tea-specific evidence: Direct evidence for ordinary lemon-verbena tea is much smaller than the extract literature.
The sections below summarize the principal health areas investigated in the literature. Evidence strength is not uniform, and studies using extracts, oils, capsules or combination products are identified conceptually rather than treated as interchangeable with tea.
Sleep
What researchers found
A recent randomized double-blind study in healthy adults with sleep disturbance reported improvements in several sleep-quality measures after a standardized lemon-verbena extract.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Stress & mood
What researchers found
Clinical studies have examined psychological stress and mood-related outcomes.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Exercise recovery
What researchers found
Human research has investigated recovery, muscle soreness and oxidative-stress markers in physically active participants.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Metabolic and antioxidant outcomes
What researchers found
Small clinical studies have measured glucose, lipids and oxidative-stress biomarkers.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Tea-specific evidence
What researchers found
Direct evidence for ordinary lemon-verbena tea is much smaller than the extract literature.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Overall Assessment
Lemon verbena has emerging human evidence, particularly for sleep and exercise-related recovery, but the clinical literature is still small and heavily dependent on standardized extracts.
References
- Pérez-Piñero 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. PMID: 38794761. doi:10.3390/nu16101523.
- Afrasiabian F, 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. PMID: 30450627. doi:10.1002/ptr.6228.
Reference note: References were selected to represent the principal human clinical and systematic-review evidence discussed in this article. Where direct tea-infusion evidence is limited, the article explicitly identifies that limitation.
Publication version: August 2026
Our Pure Lemon Verbena is whole leaf and nothing else.
These statements have not been evaluated by Medsafe. This tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or managing a health condition, check with your healthcare provider before making it a regular habit.
