Lemongrass

What Is Lemongrass?

Lemongrass is a tall, clumping aromatic grass native to South and Southeast Asia and cultivated throughout the tropics. Its lemon-scented leaves and tender stem bases are a staple flavouring in Thai, Vietnamese and Caribbean cuisine and a popular herbal tea known in some regions as “fever grass.”

Traditional & Modern Uses

In traditional medicine across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, lemongrass tea is used to calm the nerves and aid sleep, settle the stomach and relieve cramping, and to promote sweating in fevers. It is valued as a gentle relaxant and digestive, and its essential oil is used in aromatherapy and as a natural insect repellent and antimicrobial. It is worth separating the two things people mean by “lemongrass,” because they behave differently: the concentrated, steam-distilled essential oil carries the strong antimicrobial and aroma activity, while the water infusion (the drunk tea) is a milder polyphenol drink — and the traditional “calming” reputation of that tea is not borne out by the one controlled human trial of the ingested herb (see the research section).

Phytochemistry

Lemongrass is valued almost entirely for its citral. Citral — the marker compound and the source of the lemon scent — is not a single molecule but a pair of isomeric monoterpene aldehydes, geranial (citral a) and neral (citral b), which together make up roughly two-thirds to four-fifths of the leaf essential oil and carry most of its antimicrobial and aroma activity ^{3,1Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →}. The supporting cast is a set of further monoterpenoids: myrcene, geraniol, citronellal and limonene, with a little linalool ^{3,1Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →}. Separate from the volatile oil, the essential-oil-free leaf infusion carries a pool of water-soluble polyphenols — chiefly chlorogenic acid — which is the chemistry behind the tea’s (as opposed to the oil’s) anti-inflammatory activity ^{9Reference 9Francisco et al. · 2013In vitroAnti-inflammatory activity of Cymbopogon citratus infusion via proteasome and NF-κB inhibition: contribution of chlorogenic acid — in vitroView study →}.

Constituent Summary

Figures are share of leaf essential oil and vary with cultivar, maturity and season; geranial and neral are the two components that together constitute citral ^{3,1Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →}. Chlorogenic acid is a leaf-infusion polyphenol, not part of the oil, so no oil share is given.

Pharmacology & Research

Lemongrass has a sizeable but preclinical-heavy literature: several hundred papers, the large majority in vitro or in animal models, plus two comprehensive ethnopharmacology reviews that map the field ^{1,2Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →Reference 2Du et al. · 2024ReviewEthnopharmacology, chemical composition and functions of Cymbopogon citratus — reviewView study →}. Almost all of it centres on one thing — the citral-rich essential oil and the water-soluble polyphenols of the leaf infusion — and the two behave differently, so a result in the concentrated oil rarely transfers to the tea and vice versa ^{1,3Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →}. The strongest and most consistent signals are antimicrobial/antifungal and anti-inflammatory, both well mapped mechanistically; the most interesting recent development is human data on inhaled lemongrass aroma for procedural anxiety, where a 2025 randomised trial found a real effect ^{17Reference 17Maybodi et al. · 2025RCTEffect of aromatherapy with lemongrass on the anxiety of patients undergoing scaling and root planing — randomised controlled trialView study →} even though the classic 1986 double-blind trial of the ingested tea found none ^{16Reference 16Leite et al. · 1986RCTPharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trialView study →}. Outside anxiety and topical/antimicrobial use, human efficacy data are essentially absent, and no result is tied to a standardised, dosed preparation.

0. Evidence by indication

Support is an experimental score I’m building — a composite weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro > review) and study volume. It’s a beta: a fast way to rank strength of evidence at a glance, not a validated metric, and I’ll keep honing the formula over time. Each indication name links down to its write-up.

Indication	Support	Rests on
Antimicrobial & antifungal	███████░░░ 68%	Broad, replicated in vitro potency of the citral oil; human data only as topical/periodontal use, not systemic infection.
Anti-inflammatory	██████░░░░ 64%	Multiple in vitro + rodent studies, mechanism mapped (NF-κB, COX-2); infusion and oil both active; no efficacy RCT.
Antioxidant	██████░░░░ 56%	Consistent radical-scavenging and cell-protection in vitro; constituent-level; no clinical endpoint measured.
Anxiolytic & nervous	█████░░░░░ 48%	Split evidence: inhaled aroma positive in small human RCTs; ingested tea null in a double-blind human trial.
Gastroprotective	████░░░░░░ 42%	One well-designed mouse ulcer study; effect driven by the oil and geraniol, not citral; no human data.
Anticancer (cytotoxic)	████░░░░░░ 38%	Cytotoxic and resistance-reversing in cell lines only; no in vivo tumour or human evidence.
Hypolipidemic	███░░░░░░░ 30%	Cholesterol drop in mice given the oil; the human tea trial showed no lipid change; largely in vitro/animal.

1. Antimicrobial & antifungal

The most robust part of the literature. Lemongrass essential oil, dominated by citral (the geranial/neral pair), inhibits a broad panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, dermatophytes and yeasts in vitro, and its vapour phase is active against Aspergillus and Candida ^{3,4Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →Reference 4Boukhatem et al. · 2014In vitroLemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal agent — in vitro and in vivo animal studyView study →}. It disrupts Candida tropicalis biofilms — relevant to catheter and prosthesis colonisation that resists conventional antifungals ^{5Reference 5Sahal et al. · 2020In vitroAntifungal and biofilm inhibitory effect of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil on Candida tropicalis — in vitro studyView study →} — and, beyond microbes, is miticidal and ovicidal against the scabies mite Sarcoptes scabiei at 5–10% dilutions ^{6Reference 6Li et al. · 2020In vitroLemongrass oil: a promising miticidal and ovicidal agent against Sarcoptes scabiei — in vitro studyView study →}. Human evidence is confined to topical and oral-cavity use (lemongrass mouthwashes and gels in periodontitis; see Clinical trials), not systemic infection, and potency is oil-dependent, so the drunk tea should not be assumed to carry the same effect.

Gap: No controlled trial of systemic or even standardised topical antimicrobial efficacy; almost all data are broth or agar assays at concentrations far above what a tea delivers.

2. Anti-inflammatory

Both major fractions are active by distinct routes. The essential-oil-free leaf infusion suppresses nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β) output in LPS-stimulated dendritic cells and macrophages, an effect traced by bio-guided fractionation to its polyphenols ^{7,8Reference 7Figueirinha et al. · 2010In vitroAnti-inflammatory activity of Cymbopogon citratus leaf infusion in LPS-stimulated dendritic cells: contribution of the polyphenols — in vitroView study →Reference 8Francisco et al. · 2011In vitroCymbopogon citratus as source of anti-inflammatory compounds: bio-guided assay in LPS-stimulated macrophages — in vitroView study →}. A key mechanistic study identified chlorogenic acid as a driver, acting through proteasome and NF-κB pathway inhibition ^{9Reference 9Francisco et al. · 2013In vitroAnti-inflammatory activity of Cymbopogon citratus infusion via proteasome and NF-κB inhibition: contribution of chlorogenic acid — in vitroView study →}, and a polyphenol-rich topical emulsion reduced skin oedema in vivo ^{10Reference 10Costa et al. · 2016AnimalPolyphenols from Cymbopogon citratus leaves as topical anti-inflammatory agents — in vivo animal modelView study →}. Separately, the citral-rich oil shows topical and oral anti-inflammatory activity in rodents ^{4Reference 4Boukhatem et al. · 2014In vitroLemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal agent — in vitro and in vivo animal studyView study →}, and 2025 metabolite-profiling work links both the ethanol extract and the oil to protein-denaturation and membrane-stabilisation activity in vitro ^{11Reference 11Sari et al. · 2025In vitroUHPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS profiling and anti-inflammatory effect of the ethanol extract and essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus — in vitroView study →}. Mechanism is well mapped; efficacy in a human inflammatory condition has not been tested.

Gap: No clinical anti-inflammatory endpoint; the infusion and oil work through different chemistry, so “lemongrass is anti-inflammatory” hides which preparation and dose is meant.

3. Antioxidant

Consistent but shallow. The essential oil and polyphenol fractions scavenge DPPH/ABTS radicals and, more meaningfully, protect human erythrocytes from lipid peroxidation under high-glucose stress in vitro ^{12Reference 12De Oliveira e Silva et al. · 2022In vitroCymbopogon citratus protects erythrocytes from lipid peroxidation in vitroView study →}. Antioxidant output depends heavily on how the extract is formulated and delivered ^{13Reference 13Sousa et al. · 2021In vitroFormulation effects in the antioxidant activity of extract from the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus — in vitroView study →}, and the same activity is repeatedly co-reported with cytoprotection in cancer-cell assays ^{14Reference 14Pan et al. · 2022In vitroIn vitro evaluation of antioxidant and anticancer activity of lemongrass in cervical cancer cells — in vitroView study →}. All of this is cell-free or cell-culture; no human study has measured an antioxidant biomarker after lemongrass intake.

Gap: Entirely in vitro; radical-scavenging in a cuvette does not establish systemic antioxidant benefit, and no clinical oxidative-stress marker has been followed.

4. Anxiolytic & nervous

The indication with the clearest preparation split, and the most honest cautionary tale on the page. In mice, the essential oil produces anxiolytic-like behaviour that is blocked by flumazenil, implicating the GABA-A/benzodiazepine site ^{15Reference 15Costa et al. · 2011AnimalThe GABAergic system contributes to the anxiolytic-like effect of essential oil from Cymbopogon citratus — mouse in vivoView study →}. But the definitive human test of the ingested herb — a 1986 double-blind trial of the traditional Brazilian tea — found no hypnotic and no anxiolytic effect versus placebo, despite confirming the tea is non-toxic ^{16Reference 16Leite et al. · 1986RCTPharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trialView study →}. The recent positive human signal comes instead from inhaled aroma: a 2025 randomised trial in patients undergoing dental scaling found lemongrass aromatherapy lowered state anxiety and stabilised haemodynamic measures ^{17Reference 17Maybodi et al. · 2025RCTEffect of aromatherapy with lemongrass on the anxiety of patients undergoing scaling and root planing — randomised controlled trialView study →}. So the route matters — aroma shows promise, the drunk tea does not deliver the sedative effect it is traditionally credited with.

Gap: The only positive human data are for inhalation in acute procedural settings; there is no evidence the oral tea treats anxiety or insomnia, and the trials are small and unblinded to smell.

5. Gastroprotective

One well-constructed animal study anchors this. In mice, the essential oil and its constituent geraniol — but notably not citral — accelerated healing of ethanol- and acetic-acid-induced gastric ulcers and improved mucosal markers ^{18Reference 18Venzon et al. · 2018AnimalEssential oil of Cymbopogon citratus and geraniol, but not citral, promote gastric healing activity in mice — in vivo animal modelView study →}. This is a clean dissociation showing the traditional “settles the stomach” use may rest on a minor constituent rather than the marker compound. It remains a single-species, single-lab finding with no human follow-up.

Gap: One rodent study only; the active molecule (geraniol) is not the one lemongrass is standardised on, and no clinical dyspepsia or ulcer data exist.

6. Anticancer (cytotoxic)

Real but strictly preclinical. Aqueous and oil extracts are cytotoxic to prostate (DU-145), cervical (SiHa) and other cancer cell lines and, in the prostate model, potentiated docetaxel while sparing non-cancer VERO cells ^{19,14Reference 19Gomes et al. · 2021In vitroLemongrass presents antitumoral effect and improves chemotherapy activity in prostate cancer cells — in vitroView study →Reference 14Pan et al. · 2022In vitroIn vitro evaluation of antioxidant and anticancer activity of lemongrass in cervical cancer cells — in vitroView study →}. The most mechanistically interesting result is that citral and geraniol help overcome doxorubicin resistance in resistant cancer cells in vitro ^{21Reference 21Mukhtar et al. · 2023In vitroCymbopogon citratus and citral overcome doxorubicin resistance in cancer cells — in vitroView study →}, and lemongrass oil induces apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest ^{22Reference 22Trang et al. · 2020In vitroEssential oils of lemongrass induce apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest — in vitroView study →}. The selectivity is limited, though: the same fractions, essential oil, citral and geraniol are cytotoxic to normal human leukocytes and erythrocytes and damage the erythrocyte membrane at higher concentrations ^{20Reference 20Mendes Hacke et al. · 2022In vitroCytotoxicity of Cymbopogon citratus fractions, essential oil, citral and geraniol in human leukocytes and erythrocytes — in vitroView study →}, so the anticancer effect is not cleanly separable from general cytotoxicity. None of this has advanced to an animal tumour model or human trial.

Gap: Cell-line only; no in vivo tumour, pharmacokinetic or human data, and the concentrations used are not achievable through dietary or tea intake.

7. Hypolipidemic

The weakest of the scored indications, and internally contradictory. Mice given lemongrass essential oil for 21 days showed reduced blood cholesterol with no genotoxicity ^{23Reference 23Costa et al. · 2011AnimalCholesterol reduction and lack of genotoxic or toxic effects in mice after repeated 21-day oral intake of lemongrass essential oil — in vivo animal modelView study →}, and in vitro the leaf polyphenols inhibit micelle formation needed for intestinal cholesterol absorption ^{24Reference 24Da Ressurreição et al. · 2022In vitroEffect of phenolic compounds from Cymbopogon citratus leaves on cholesterol micelle formation — in vitroView study →}. Against this, the 1986 human trial found the tea produced no change in serum cholesterol, triglycerides or other lipids ^{16Reference 16Leite et al. · 1986RCTPharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trialView study →}. The animal effect used the concentrated oil, not the drunk infusion, which likely explains the divergence.

Gap: The one human dataset is null; the positive evidence is a single rodent study using a different preparation, and no lipid RCT exists.

Mechanisms

Mechanism	Drives	Key compounds
Membrane disruption, ergosterol/biofilm interference	antimicrobial, antifungal	citral, geranial, neral
NF-κB ↓, COX-2 ↓, cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β) ↓, NO ↓	anti-inflammatory	chlorogenic acid, polyphenols
Free-radical scavenging, lipid-peroxidation protection	antioxidant, cytoprotection	citral, geraniol, polyphenols
GABA-A / benzodiazepine-site modulation	anxiolytic (inhaled)	citral, myrcene
Pro-apoptotic, cell-cycle arrest, efflux-pump interference	cytotoxic, chemo-resistance reversal	citral, geraniol
Gastric mucosal healing / cytoprotection	gastroprotective	geraniol

Clinical trials

Registered human trials exist but cluster in aromatherapy (dental/procedural anxiety) and dental/topical antimicrobial use (periodontal mouthwashes and gels, onychomycosis); none targets systemic disease, and no programme has been terminated for safety.

Completed	Planned	Terminated	Preclinical
~10	~4	0	hundreds

Last checked: July 2026.

Dosage

In research, lemongrass is not given as a standardised, marker-titrated dose — the human data use either the traditional dried-leaf tea or an inhaled essential-oil aroma, and the efficacy signals in animals use neat oil at mg/kg. The research and traditional doses below are not interchangeable, and the concentrated oil is a different (and riskier) preparation from the drunk tea.

Indication	Preparation	Dose	Est. dried-herb equivalent	Source
Safety / CNS (null result)	Dried-leaf hot-water infusion (“abafado”)	Single dose then daily for 2 weeks (traditional strength)	~1–4 g dried leaf per cup as commonly brewed	16Reference 16Leite et al. · 1986RCTPharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trialView study →
Anxiolytic (procedural)	Inhaled essential-oil aroma	Aroma inhaled during dental scaling session	Not applicable (inhaled, not ingested)	17Reference 17Maybodi et al. · 2025RCTEffect of aromatherapy with lemongrass on the anxiety of patients undergoing scaling and root planing — randomised controlled trialView study →
Hypolipidemic / gastroprotective (animal)	Essential oil, oral	1–100 mg/kg (mouse)	— (whole-oil dosing, no marker-% basis)	18,23Reference 18Venzon et al. · 2018AnimalEssential oil of Cymbopogon citratus and geraniol, but not citral, promote gastric healing activity in mice — in vivo animal modelView study →Reference 23Costa et al. · 2011AnimalCholesterol reduction and lack of genotoxic or toxic effects in mice after repeated 21-day oral intake of lemongrass essential oil — in vivo animal modelView study →

*Est. dried-herb equivalent assumes dried lemongrass leaf yields on the order of 0.2–0.5% v/w essential oil, so a cup brewed from a few grams of leaf delivers only milligrams of volatile oil — orders of magnitude below the mg/kg oil doses used in rodent studies. This is a rough guide to show the gap between tea and experimental oil doses, not a conversion factor or a recommendation. Animal oil doses are left ”—” for whole-herb equivalence because they were dosed as neat oil.

Traditional Dosage

Western herbal and Southeast-Asian folk practice use the whole leaf as a tea, decoction or tincture. These are traditional culinary-to-medicinal amounts, not doses validated against an outcome in the trial literature.

System	Preparation	Dose
Western herbal	Dried-leaf infusion (tea)	~1–4 g dried leaf per cup, 1–3× daily
Western herbal	Liquid extract / tincture	per practitioner ratio (1:2 to 1:5); not standardised in the trials
TCM / SE-Asian folk	Fresh leaf/stem decoction	culinary-to-medicinal amounts; used for fever, digestion, calming

Safety

As a culinary herb and water infusion, lemongrass is very low-risk: a double-blind human study of the daily tea over two weeks found no toxicity and no changes across a full panel of liver, kidney, glucose and lipid markers, EEG or EKG ^{16Reference 16Leite et al. · 1986RCTPharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trialView study →}. The concentrated essential oil is a different matter — it is a skin and mucous-membrane irritant that should be diluted for topical use and not ingested undiluted, and its acute oral LD50 in mice is roughly 3,500 mg/kg ^{23Reference 23Costa et al. · 2011AnimalCholesterol reduction and lack of genotoxic or toxic effects in mice after repeated 21-day oral intake of lemongrass essential oil — in vivo animal modelView study →}. Lemongrass and citral are recognised contact/airborne allergens in fragrance-sensitive individuals, so patch-test caution applies to the oil ^{3Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →}. No clinically significant drug interaction has been demonstrated in humans, but this has not been formally studied.

Scope note: drug interactions were not assessed in this research — no human drug-interaction study was identified, so the “no interaction” statement reflects absence of data, not evidence of safety.

Pregnancy & lactation

Not established — culinary amounts likely fine, medicinal doses and the oil best avoided. Food-level use of lemongrass as a flavouring or occasional tea has no reported harm, but there is no human pregnancy safety study, and citral has shown dose-dependent effects on reproductive tissue in animal models. Concentrated essential oil, internally or in large amounts, should be avoided in pregnancy and lactation until data exist ^{1,3Reference 1Ekpenyong et al. · 2015ReviewEthnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — reviewView study →Reference 3Mukarram et al. · 2022ReviewLemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — reviewView study →}.

Scope note: pregnancy and lactation were not specifically studied in humans — this verdict is precautionary, resting on indirect animal citral signals, not a finding of harm.

References

1. Ekpenyong, C. E., Akpan, E., & Nyoh, A. (2015). Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biological activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf extracts — review. Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25986281/
2. Du, X., et al. (2024). Ethnopharmacology, chemical composition and functions of Cymbopogon citratus — review. Chinese Herbal Medicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39072200/
3. Mukarram, M., Choudhary, S., Khan, M. A., et al. (2022). Lemongrass essential oil components with antimicrobial and anticancer activities — review. Antioxidants. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35052524/
4. Boukhatem, M. N., Ferhat, M. A., Kameli, A., et al. (2014). Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal agent — in vitro and in vivo animal study. Libyan Journal of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25242268/
5. Sahal, G., et al. (2020). Antifungal and biofilm inhibitory effect of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil on Candida tropicalis — in vitro study. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31470085/
6. Li, M., et al. (2020). Lemongrass oil: a promising miticidal and ovicidal agent against Sarcoptes scabiei — in vitro study. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32251453/
7. Figueirinha, A., Cruz, M. T., Francisco, V., et al. (2010). Anti-inflammatory activity of Cymbopogon citratus leaf infusion in LPS-stimulated dendritic cells: contribution of the polyphenols — in vitro. Journal of Medicinal Food. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20438326/
8. Francisco, V., et al. (2011). Cymbopogon citratus as source of anti-inflammatory compounds: bio-guided assay in LPS-stimulated macrophages — in vitro. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21075192/
9. Francisco, V., et al. (2013). Anti-inflammatory activity of Cymbopogon citratus infusion via proteasome and NF-κB inhibition: contribution of chlorogenic acid — in vitro. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23583902/
10. Costa, G., et al. (2016). Polyphenols from Cymbopogon citratus leaves as topical anti-inflammatory agents — in vivo animal model. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26702504/
11. Sari, I., et al. (2025). UHPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS profiling and anti-inflammatory effect of the ethanol extract and essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus — in vitro. Chemistry & Biodiversity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40540303/
12. De Oliveira e Silva, F., et al. (2022). Cymbopogon citratus protects erythrocytes from lipid peroxidation in vitro. Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34488600/
13. Sousa, R., et al. (2021). Formulation effects in the antioxidant activity of extract from the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus — in vitro. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34361669/
14. Pan, D., et al. (2022). In vitro evaluation of antioxidant and anticancer activity of lemongrass in cervical cancer cells — in vitro. Nutrition and Cancer. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34282694/
15. Costa, C. A. R. A., et al. (2011). The GABAergic system contributes to the anxiolytic-like effect of essential oil from Cymbopogon citratus — mouse in vivo. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21767622/
16. Leite, J. R., et al. (1986). Pharmacology of lemongrass III: assessment of toxic, hypnotic and anxiolytic effects in humans — randomised double-blind controlled clinical trial. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2429120/
17. Maybodi, F. R., et al. (2025). Effect of aromatherapy with lemongrass on the anxiety of patients undergoing scaling and root planing — randomised controlled trial. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40069670/
18. Venzon, L., et al. (2018). Essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus and geraniol, but not citral, promote gastric healing activity in mice — in vivo animal model. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29248831/
19. Gomes, L. F., et al. (2021). Lemongrass presents antitumoral effect and improves chemotherapy activity in prostate cancer cells — in vitro. Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33438563/
20. Mendes Hacke, A. C., et al. (2022). Cytotoxicity of Cymbopogon citratus fractions, essential oil, citral and geraniol in human leukocytes and erythrocytes — in vitro. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35227781/
21. Mukhtar, M. H., et al. (2023). Cymbopogon citratus and citral overcome doxorubicin resistance in cancer cells — in vitro. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37110649/
22. Trang, D. T., et al. (2020). Essential oils of lemongrass induce apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest — in vitro. BioMed Research International. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32420353/
23. Costa, C. A. R. A., et al. (2011). Cholesterol reduction and lack of genotoxic or toxic effects in mice after repeated 21-day oral intake of lemongrass essential oil — in vivo animal model. Food and Chemical Toxicology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21693164/
24. Da Ressurreição, S., et al. (2022). Effect of phenolic compounds from Cymbopogon citratus leaves on cholesterol micelle formation — in vitro. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36364172/