What Is Lemongrass Essential Oil?

Lemongrass grows in dense clumps that can grow six feet in height and four feet in width. It is native to warm and tropical regions, such as India, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

It is used as a medicinal herb in India, and it is common in Asian cuisine. In African and South American countries, it is popularly used for making tea.

Lemongrass oil comes from the leaves or grasses of the lemongrass plant, most often the Cymbopogon flexuosus or Cymbopogon citratus plants. The oil has a light and fresh lemony smell with earthy undertones. It is stimulating, relaxing, soothing and balancing.

The chemical composition of lemongrass essential oil varies according to the geographical origin. The compounds typically include hydrocarbon terpenes, alcohols, ketones, esters and mainly aldehydes. The essential oil consists of mainly citral at about 70 percent to 80 percent.

The lemongrass plant (C. citratus) is known by several international common names, such as West Indian lemon grass or lemon grass (English), hierba limon or zacate de limón (Spanish), citronelle or verveine des indes (French), and xiang mao (Chinese). Today, India is the top producer of lemongrass oil.

Lemongrass is one of the most popular essential oils used today for its wide variety of health benefits and uses. With its cooling and astringent effects, it’s known for combating heat and tightening tissues of the body.

Benefits and Uses

What is lemongrass essential oil used for? There are so many potential lemongrass essential oil uses and benefits so let’s dive in to them now.

Some of the most common uses and benefits of lemongrass essential oil include:

1. Natural Deodorizer and Cleaner

Use lemongrass oil as a natural and safe air freshener or deodorizer. You can add the oil to water, and use it as a mist or use an oil diffuser or vaporizer.

By adding other essential oils, like lavender or tea tree oil, you can customize your own natural fragrance.

Cleaning with lemongrass essential oil is another great idea because not only does it naturally deodorize your home, but it also helps sanitize it.

2. Muscle Relaxer

Do you have sore muscles, or are you experiencing cramps or muscle spasms? Lemongrass oil benefits also include its ability to help relieve muscle aches, cramps and spasms. It may also help improve circulation.

Try rubbing diluted lemongrass oil on your body, or make your own lemongrass oil foot bath.

3. May Lower Cholesterol

A research study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology looked at the effects of giving animal subjects with high cholesterol lemongrass essential oil by mouth for a total of 21 days. The mice were either given 1, 10 or 100 mg/kg of lemongrass oil.

The researchers found that blood cholesterol levels were reduced in the group treated with the highest dose of lemongrass oil. Overall, the study concludes that the “findings verified the safety of lemongrass intake at the doses used in folk medicine and indicated the beneficial effect of reducing the blood cholesterol level.”

4. Bacteria Killer

A study done in 2012 tested the antibacterial effects of lemongrass. Micro-organisms were tested with a disk diffusion method. Lemongrass essential oil was added to a staph infection, and the results indicated that lemongrass oil disrupted the infection and works as an antimicrobial (or bacteria-killing) agent.

The citral and limonene content in lemongrass oil can kill or stifle the growth of bacteria and fungi. This can help you avoid getting infections, such as ringworm, athlete’s foot or other types of fungus.