Kjlk

ISSN 1399-5622 ISBN 955-8394-09-2

id Aromatic Plant Series, No. 9

LEMONGRASS
[Cymbopogon citratus)

Information Services Centre Industrial Technology Institute (Successor to CISIR) Colombo, Sri Lanka

Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Series; No 9
'.v\\

LEMONGRASS
- a literature survey -

Compiled by: Puraima Jayasinha Supervised by: Dilmani Warnasuriya and Harshani DissanayakeNational Science Foundation Grant RG/IS/96/01

Published by: Industrial Technology Institute 363 Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka

1999

© Industrial Technology Institute (CISIR) & National Science Foundation First Published in 1999

National Library of Sri Lanka - Cataloguing - In - Publication Data Jayasinha, Purnima Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) 1 Pumima Jayasinha; DilmaniWarnasuriya; Harshani Dissanayake .Colombo : Information Services Centre, Industrial Technology Institute, 1999 Vol. 9.- p . ; 28cm..- (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants series) ISBN 955-8394-09-2 i. 615.321 DDC21 Hi. Series iv. Warnasuriya, Dilmani jt.au. v. Dissanayake, Harshani jt.au. 1. Aromatic plants Price: Rs.200.00 ii. Title
r

2. Botany, Medical

ISSN 1399-5622 ISBN 955-8394-09-2 Publishedby Information Services Centre, Industrial Technology Institute

The information provided in this monograph is taken from available scientific literature. The authors accept no liability for any damages arising from any claims contained in this text. • .-,

Acknowledgements The financial assistance by the National Science Foundation (grant number RG/IS/96/01) for the project is gratefullyacknowledged. Sincere thanks are due to Mrs. Wathmanel Seneviratne and Mrs. Neranjani Mohottala for preparing the database. Grateful thanks are also due to Dr. U. M. Senanayake for editing. The assistance and support given by the industries during visits are greatly appreciated. The secretarial assistance of Mrs. Srimani Senanayake is acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Ms. Roshani Fernando fordesigning the cover.

Contents

Introduction History Botany 3.1 Taxonomy 3.2 Habitat Agronomy 5.1 Soil and Climate 5.2 Propagation 5.3 Fertilizer 5.4 Weeding and Inter Culture 5.5 Diseases and Pests 5.6 Harvest and Yield Processing 6.1 Production of Essential oil 6.2 Drying 6.3 Terpene-free Lemongrass oil Plant Description

Packaging and Storage Chemistry of Grass 8.1 Physico-chemicalCharacteristics 8.2 Biocharacteristics 8.3 Biological Data Analysis of Lemongrass Oil 9.1 Chromatography 9.2 Spectrosscopy 9.3 Determination of Citral Chemicals from the Oil

11.

Standards and Specifications •11.1 Standards 11.2 Adulteration

12. 13.

Trade Uses 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5

Perfumery Insect Repellent Properties Germicidal and Bactericidal Therapeutic Usage Other UsesBibliography

Lemongrass
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Lemongrass is an aromatic grass belonging to the family Gramineae and genus Cymbopogon, which consist of about 80 species. Lemongrass is well known for its oil and it is one of the world's best known essential oils. There are two main types of lemongrass namely East Indian and West Indian. The East Indian lemongrass oil is obtained from Cymbopogon flexuosusStapf and is the genuine oil of commercial importance. The species is considered to have originated in Kerala, the southern most state of India. According to the colour of the stem, this is again divided into two types. The 'red grass' which is true Cymbopogon flexuosus is known as 'choomanna poolu' in Tamil; and 'white grass' known as 'wella poolu'has been identified as Cymbopogon flexuosus var.albescens. The oil obtained from this plant has very low aldehyde content and is poor in solubility. The West Indian oil is extracted from Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf that is mainly cultivated in Central and South America and also known in parts of Africa, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean Islands. The name lemongrass has been given because of its typical strong lemon - like odour, which...