Herb & supplement monograph

Lemon Verbena Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Lemon Verbena interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Lemon Verbena is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Lemon Verbena is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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Lemon Verbena Drug Interactions: The Bottom Line

From the HelloPharmacist Editorial Team · Updated July 2026

Based on the available evidence, the overall risk of a clinically significant Lemon Verbena drug interaction appears low for most people, with one area of caution around sedating medications. None of the listed interactions are rated major, and the single documented concern rests on animal research rather than human studies.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The interactions that deserve the most attention involve benzodiazepines, a group of sedating medicines that includes diazepam. In mice, lemon verbena added to the calming effect of diazepam, so combining the two could in theory deepen drowsiness or slow breathing. This has not been confirmed in people, but anyone taking these medicines should be aware that extra sedation is possible.

What the rest of the list means

Although a couple dozen medications appear on the interaction list, nearly all trace back to this one theoretical concern about added sedation. A longer list does not mean every combination is harmful; it mostly reflects how many individual medicines belong to the affected group. So far, no interaction with lemon verbena has been shown to cause meaningful problems in human studies.

Check your medications against Lemon Verbena

Based on HelloPharmacist’s Lemon Verbena interaction data and reviewed under our editorial standards.

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Lemon Verbena

22 medications have a known interaction with Lemon Verbena, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Lemon Verbena using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Lemon Verbena interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Lemon Verbena combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Lemon Verbena affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Lemon Verbena is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 1 drug category Lemon Verbena interacts with

Benzodiazepines

Theoretically, taking lemon verbena with benzodiazepines might increase the risk of sedation and respiratory depression.
Animal research shows that lemon verbena has additive sedative effects in mice that also received diazepam.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Lemon Verbena: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Lemon verbena is a fragrant South American herb most often enjoyed as a tea or flavoring, and it contains polyphenols like verbascoside that have antioxidant activity in lab studies. Some small studies hint at benefits for inflammation, exercise recovery, and appetite, but the human evidence is limited and far from proven. It is generally well tolerated as a food and tea, but talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements, and avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Scientific name: Aloysia citrodora
Family: Verbenaceae
Part used: Leaves and flowering tops; the essential oil is also used
Common forms: Tea, capsules, liquid extracts, essential oil, and as a flavoring in foods and beverages

People commonly use it for

Digestive upset
Anxiety and trouble sleeping
Joint pain and inflammation
Exercise recovery and oxidative stress
Weight management
Flavoring and aromatherapy

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Generally well tolerated as a tea or food, but concentrated extracts and the essential oil are less studied.

PregnancyInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

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Overview

Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is a small flowering shrub that is native to South America, including countries like Argentina and Chile. It is now grown in many warm regions around the world. The plant is best known for its lemon-scented leaves, which are used to make teas, flavor foods and drinks, and add fragrance to perfumes and soaps.

Despite its lemony smell and taste, lemon verbena is not botanically related to lemons. The leaves and flowering tops are the parts most often used. Water-based extracts of the leaf are rich in plant compounds called polyphenols, such as verbascoside, while the essential oil contains aromatic compounds like limonene and linalool.

Traditionally, lemon verbena has been used as a calming tea and as a folk remedy for digestive complaints. Today it is sold both as a culinary herb and as a dietary supplement, sometimes in capsules standardized for polyphenol content.

How it works

Lemon verbena contains a mix of polyphenols, most notably verbascoside (also called acteoside), along with flavonoids and other antioxidant compounds. In laboratory studies, these compounds can neutralize free radicals and may lower certain markers of inflammation.

The essential oil contains aromatic compounds such as limonene, linalool, and caryophyllene, which give the plant its scent and may have antimicrobial activity in test-tube studies.

It is important to understand that most of these effects have been shown in cell or animal experiments, or in very small human studies. Showing that a compound is active in a lab dish does not prove it will help a person take a tea or capsule. The way the body absorbs and uses these compounds in real life is still being studied.

Effectiveness

Does Lemon Verbena work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 7 uses evaluated

7 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

For Lemon Verbena, current evidence isn’t strong enough to rate any specific use. The conditions it has been studied for are listed below.

Also studied for 7 conditions — evidence insufficient to rate

Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Anxiety