Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) Essential Oil

Lemongrass Essential Oil


BOTANICAL NAME
Cymbopogon flexuosus

COMMON METHOD OF EXTRACTION
Steam distilled

PARTS USED
Grass

NOTE CLASSIFICATION
Top

AROMA
Heavy, lemony, green

LARGEST PRODUCING COUNTRIES
Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Nepal

TRADITIONAL USE

The oil is widely used as an addition to bug repellants, and for its lemony aroma. It is also used for the isolation of citral.

Lemongrass oil revitalizes the body and relieves the symptoms of jetlag, clears headaches and helps to combat nervous exhaustion and stress-related conditions.

It is a great overall tonic for the body and it boosts the parasympathetic nervous system, which is a boon when recovering from illness, as it also stimulates glandular secretions.

It is useful with respiratory infections such as sore throats, laryngitis and fever and helps prevent spreading of infectious diseases. It is helpful with colitis, indigestion and gastro-enteritis.

Lemongrass oil helps tone the muscles and tissue, relieves muscle pains by making the muscle more supple. It helps with correcting poor circulation and cures cellulite. It helps to keep pets clean of fleas, ticks and lice and is an insect repellant

It also is used for clearing up oily skin and acne, as well as athlete's foot. It alleviates excessive perspiration.

Lemongrass oil has great benefits as a muscle and skin toner, and revitalizes the body and mind, helps with infections and keeps the family pet flea and tick free and smelling nice.

Burners and vaporizers
In vapor therapy, Lemongrass oil can be used for nervousness and as an insect repellant. It is also great to revive the mind when feeling lethargic and to energize as well as relieving fatigue.

Blended massage oil or in the bath
Lemongrass oil can be used in blended massage oil or diluted in the bath to assist with cellulite, digestive problems, as a diuretic, for infections, nervousness, for over exerted ligaments and as a general tonic.

Cream or lotion
When used in a lotion or a cream, it has value in clearing cellulite, as well as toning the skin, opening blocked pores and helping with acne. The antiseptic properties are useful in treating athlete's foot and other fungal infections.

Note
Although some people may have an allergic reaction to lemongrass oil, most people do not show an allergy when it is used in concentrations lower than 3%. Since our oil only contains trace amounts of citral (whereas West and East Indian lemongrass (Andropogon flexuosus and A. citratus contains nearly 79%) the possibility of irritation or allergy is less.


PROPERTIES
Analgesic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiseptic, antiviral, astringent, bactericidal, carminative, deodorant, digestive, febrifuge, fungicidal, insecticidal, nervine, sedative, tonic

BLENDS WELL WIT
Basil, bergamot, black pepper, cedarwood, clary sage, coriander, cypress, fennel, geranium, ginger, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, marjoram, orange, palmarosa, patchouli, rosemary, tea tree, thyme, vetiver, ylang ylang

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

The main chemical components of lemongrass oil are myrcene, citronellal, geranyl acetate, nerol, geraniol, neral and traces of limonene and citral.

OF INTEREST
It is a perennial fast-growing aromatic grass, growing to about 1 meter (3 feet) high with long, thin leaves and originally was growing wild in India. It produces a network of roots and rootlets that rapidly exhaust the soil.

In India it is known as 'choomana poolu' and is also referred to as 'Indian Verbena' or 'Indian Melissa oil' and used in Ayurvedic medicine to help bring down fevers and treat infectious illnesses. It is a valuable ingredient in perfumes and citrus-type soaps and is also an insect deterrent.

Often times the spent plant material from distillation is used as food for cattle.

SAFETY DATA
May cause skin irritation.