Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) Cut and Sifted, Certified Organic

HONDURAS. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), Cut and Sifted, Certified Organic

Common names: Oil Grass, Tanglad, Sereh, Achara, Xiang Mao, Capim-cidrao, Hari-chaha, Bhutrin, Citronella Grass, Fever Tea, Hierba Luisa, Hierba de Limón, Indian Melissa, Indian Verbena, Silky Heads, Sa Chanh, Agan Ghas, Gandhatrina, Bai Mak Nao, Balin, Bhutika, Geranium Grass, Hirvacha, Feng Mao, Capim Santo, Khavi, Lilicha, Penquin, Sabalin, Serai, Tejsar, Vlaska, Zabalin

Family: Poaceae

Lemongrass is a perennial clumping grass, growing 3-5 feet tall. It’s native to India and cultivated commercially on the Indian subcontinent, in Guatemala, China, Paraguay, and grown elsewhere in warm humid regions of South Asia, the Philippines, Africa, and Central and South America. Large quantities are also wild harvested.

We’ve come to know Lemongrass as a delicious ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Citrusy but not sour, with a slight smoky note, Lemongrass oils and extracts are produced in abundance for adding its unique, soothing scent and antiseptic properties to soaps and cosmetics, and for flavoring foods and beverages. Lemongrass is closely related to Citronella and its essential oil shares Citronella’s renowned insect repellent properties.

Lemongrass is a distinctly cooling herb, rich in antioxidants and well-known for its antimicrobial and anti-fungal activity. It stimulates metabolism, improves circulation, reduces fever, helps regulate blood lipids and cholesterol, and counteracts obesity. It is diuretic and protects the liver. It promotes digestion and calms dyspepsia, preventing damage to the stomach caused by alcohol and aspirin in animal studies. It is analgesic, antispasmodic, tranquilizing, mildly sedative, and sudorific (induces sweating). It fosters red blood cell formation and so may be useful in preventing and treating anemia.

Much of the Lemongrass crop goes toward essential oil production, and Lemongrass essential oil, containing citral, myrcene, citronellol, geraniol, and other terpenoids, can be safely ingested, unlike many others. Aqueous extracts—teas—are used in tropical folk medicine around the world for all the applications discussed here. and are abundant sources of polyphenols, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and other components with proven anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor benefits.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.