Salve
Selfheal lip balm
Selfheal is Prunella vulgaris. It stands in lawns and verges across the country, low and unremarkable, with a dense purple flower head like a small cone.
Most people walk past it. They should not.
Selfheal contains prunellin and rosmarinic acid, and laboratory studies show it hinders the herpes virus from entering cells. It has even shown activity against strains that have become resistant to ordinary antiviral medication. That is an unusual thing for a plant from a lawn.
Note the distinction: where lemon balm has been studied in people, selfheal has mainly been studied in the laboratory and used traditionally for centuries. Promising, but not the same as proven.
If you want both, make it with half selfheal and half lemon balm. The two share the same active compound and work the same way.
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