Antioxidative compounds contained in the leaves of Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) were investigated. Six major compounds, protocatechuic acid (or 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 1 ), 2-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-1,3-benzodioxole-5-aldehyde ( 2 ), caffeic acid ( 3 ), rosmarinic acid ( 4 ), caffeic acid methyl ester ( 5 ), and rosmarinic acid methyl ester ( 6 ) were isolated from the extract of the plant and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was measured. Among them, compound 2 showed the most potent activity, about ten-fold that of ascorbic acid and of α-tocopherol. The compound had a characteristic 1,3-benzodioxole structure and was easily degraded into two molecules of protocatechualdehyde.
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Tagashira et al. (1998) studied this question.