Essential Oils and their gifts: Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus)

Essential oils truly are multi-dynamical.  Indeed, Marguerite Maury, in her fascinating book, The Secret of Life and Youth, reminds us when dealing with an essential oil and its ‘odoriferance’, that we enter the very heart of the alchemy of creation.  Thus, we have at our disposal a natural vital force, a living element, a source of healing and restorative energy, all activated through a unique, complex, responsive interplay between essential oil molecules and chemical pathways within the body.  Through this interplay, the body is aided to cleanse and to maintain, rebalance, recalibrate, recover, and restore its psycho-emotional-spiritual and physical equilibrium and vitality. (p 80-81)

Plants are differentiated by their unique scent, among other indicators, such as shape, colour etc..  Insects, birds and animals are attracted or repelled by a plant’s exuding odour; to aid pollination and seed dispersal, or to discourage depredation.  Depending on the role they play, essential oils are found in various parts of a plant (roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds).  For example, the attractant, rich, sweet floral-scented blossoms of ylang ylang or rose; the protective bactericidal and anti-fungal, spicy, sweet-earthy-woody-scented roots of ginger or spikenard; or the repellent, herbal-phenolic camphoreous-medicinal scented leaves of thyme or rosemary.  Some plants produce two or three varieties of essential oil.  For example, the wood and leaves (petitgrain), blossom (neroli) and fruit (bergamot orange) of citrus trees, the leaf and bark of cinnamon, and the bud and leaf of clove, and so on.

There are numerous essential oil-producing plants, each with a unique scent ‘fingerprint’ and therapeutic profile.  My books, Healing with Essential Oils, Essential Oils for the Whole Body, and Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation, explore the qualities, virtues and applications of essential oils in detail.  Indeed, there is so much more background content to the story of an essential oil than is initially revealed by the liquid scent captured within the bottle standing on a shelf.  To elaborate on this point, let me, for example, describe lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus) essential oil.

About the plant.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus), along with citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus, Cymbopogon nardus) and palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini), which are similarly citrusy and lemon-like, and vetivert (Vetiveria zizanoides), belongs to the botanical family Poaceae (Gramineae), which forms part of the grass family.

Lemongrass is an aromatic, sweet, lemon-scented perennial that grows in dense clumps up to five to six feet high, with several stiff stems and slender, narrow blade-like bluish-green to red leaves that droop toward the tips.  Lemongrass rarely flowers in northern latitudes, however, plants that grow in the tropics produce large, compound flowers on spikes. The plant produces a network of roots and rootlets.

Lemongrass is native to the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Pacific tropical islands and was introduced to warm regions in the Americas (North, Central and South).  It is cultivated as a medicinal herb and culinary ingredient, as well as for its essential oil, and is mainly produced for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industry; around one thousand tons of lemongrass is produced globally per year.  There are up to fifty-two species; however, East and West Indian species are the most common.  Lemongrass is also known as barbed wire grass, silky heads, cochin grass, and Malabar grass.

About the essential oil.

Lemongrass essential oil is produced from steam-distillation of the fresh or partially dried, finely chopped leaves or grass and flowering tops.  The dried plants produce about one to two per cent of essential oil, but this depends on the developmental stage of the plant (the oil is usually extracted during the second year of growth), the condition of the soil the plant grows in, the conditions of growth and harvest, and length of time of extraction.

The essential oil is clear to pale yellow, amber, or reddish brown, or straw-yellow to reddish brown. Its scent type is classified as citrus.  Its scent characteristics are: fresh, sweet, lemony, grassy, rosy, tomato leaf, with earthy undertones, with lemony, herbal, green tea-like body notes and herbaceous, oily dry-out notes.

The main active chemical components of the essential oil are neral and geranial (collectively referred to as citral), which account for up to sixty to eighty per cent of the total composition, and beta-myrcene, which accounts for up to twenty per cent.  The remaining compounds are present in minute quantities, yet these significantly contribute to, and, in some instances, synergistically potentiate the oils therapeutic properties and the qualities of its scent.  For example:

Monoterpene:  

alpha-pinene (up to 1%)  Herbal. Fresh, camphoreous, sweet, pine, earthy, woody

beta-myrcene (up to 20%) Spicy. Peppery, terpenic, spicy, balsamic, plastic

Monoterpene aldehyde:

neral (up to 37%) Citrus. Sweet, citral, lemon, lemon peel

geranial (up to 56%)Citrus. Citrus, lemon

Citral, the main component in Lemongrass, is also found in lemon myrtle, lemon-scented tea tree, may chang, lemon verbena, honey myrtle, melissa, lemon-scented basil, lemon-scented thyme, palmarosa, and small amounts are found in citrus oils, such as bergamot, lemon, and orange.

About its actions.

Lemongrass essential oil is effective against a wide variety of disease-causing microbes.  It is analgesic, antidepressant, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiseptic, antiviral, astringent, bactericidal, decongestant, expectorant, fungicidal, insecticidal, nervine, sedative, tonic.

For example, this oil is valuable for easing arthritis, muscular aches, pains, inflammation and sprains; acne; athlete’s foot and most fungal infections; and aids detoxification.  Its psycho-emotional-spiritual supportive qualities include easing feelings of apathy and mental and emotional fatigue, irritability, and intolerance; lack of concentration and nervous exhaustion; eases stress-related headaches, and other stress related conditions; awakens; calming and sedative to both nerves and emotions.

To apply this oil for its psycho-emotional qualities, you can add a few drops to a room diffuser, or add to jojoba oil and apply as a perfume, or blend with grapefruit or orange bitter essential oils and add a few drops of this blend to a nasal inhaler.  For its skin healing qualities, add one or two drops to jojoba, coconut or a vegetable oil, cream or lotion.

As well as grapefruit and orange bitter, lemongrass blends well with other essential oils, such as, basil, bergamot, cardamom, cedarwood, cypress, floral oils, galbanum, geranium, ginger, helichrysum, lemon, lime, myrrh, neroli (orange blossom), niaouli, orange sweet, pine, rose, rosemary, sandalwood, tea tree, vetiver and ylang ylang.  Monoterpene rich essential oils, such as grapefruit or sweet or bitter orange, quell the potential irritant effects of aldehydes (citral) found in lemongrass essential oil.  Remember, always check out the background details of an essential oil before applying it to ensure it is compatible with you.

Lemongrass is non-toxic.  However, it can cause skin irritation and sensitisation, so use this oil in moderation and avoid applying on hypersensitive, diseased or damaged skin, and always dilute in vegetable oil, cream or lotion before applying to skin; do not apply neat to skin; do not take internally; and, avoid if you are taking diabetic medication.  (Tisserand and Young 2014 p 118, 334).  Use all essential oil moderately, have breaks between use, and regularly change the essential oil or essential oil blend you use (to avoid sensitisation).  Apply five drops of essential oil to five millilitres of base medium (vegetable oil, cream or lotion).

Check out my books to discover more about Lemongrass essential oil, and the fascinating background story of numerous other essential oils, and how to blend and apply them effectively and safely to maximise their full potential:

Essential Oils to Ease Anxiety, Healing with Essential Oils, Essential Oils for the Whole Body, and Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation.  Published by Healing Arts Press, Inner Traditions, Vermont USA, and available from most in-store or online book outlets, including Barnes and Noble.

References

Maury, Marguerite. The Secrets of Life and Youth; A modern alchemy.  The C. W. Daniel Company Limited, Saffron Walden. p 76-94 (1961, 1995)

Godfrey, Heather Dawn.  Healing with Essential Oils.  Healing Arts Press, Inner Traditions, Vermont USA p 63, 114-132, 137, 163-164, 248-250 (2022)

Godfrey, Heather Dawn.  Essential Oils for the Whole Body.  Healing Arts Press, Inner Traditions, Vermont USA. p 105, 111-112, 140-154 (2019)

Godfrey, Heather Dawn.  Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation.  Healing Arts Press, Inner Tradition, Vermont USA (2018)

The Good Scents Company. Lemongrass. http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/es1025531.html (2024)

Tisserand, Robert and Rodney Young.  Essential Oils Safety (2^nd ed.).  Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier, London.  p 334-335, 534-537 (2014)