Lemongrass Essential Oil Components with Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities

Abstract

The prominent cultivation of lemongrass relies on the pharmacological incentives of its essential oil. The lemongrass essential oil (LEO) has a significant amount of citral (mixture of geranial and neral), isoneral, isogeranial, geraniol, geranyl acetate, citronellal, citronellol, germacrene-D, and elemol in addition to numerous other bioactive compounds. These components confer various medicinal activities to LEO including antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. These attributes are commercially exploited in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food preservations industries. Furthermore, the employment of LEO in the treatment of cancer opens a new vista in the field of therapeutics. Although different LEO components have shown promising anticancer activities in vitro, these effects have not been assessed yet in humans. Further studies on the anticancer mechanisms exerted by lemongrass components are required. The present review intends to provide a timely discussion on the relevance of lemongrass extracts in cancer and health treatment, and in food industry applications.

Ethnobotanical Survey on Awareness of Medicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection in Biharamulo District: Tanzania

“…verum contains aroma benzylisoquinoline, benzyl benzoate, terpenoids, cinnamaldehyde, linalool, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol, transcinnamyl, proanthocyanidins and camphor, which elicits antimicrobial, antidiabetic and anti-ulcers properties [13,114]. Cymbopogon citratus was investigated and found to possess a scent citral, limonene, quercetin, kaempferol and geraniol, which are utilized as ant carcinogenic and had ability to kill bacteria [31,115]. Back to Ipomoea cairica, it has anticancer, antidiabetic, antihypertension, ant jaundice, ant HIV transcriptase and antimicrobial activities was elevated by its coumarin derivatives, lignans, cairicoside, scopoletin, glycoresins, arctigenin, convolvine, cyanogenic glycoside, matairesinol, trachelogenin, caempferol and indole alkaloid [38,116,117] Ursolic acid, butulic acid, jacaranone, gallic, quercetin, betulinic acid, maslinic acid, caempferol, iridoids, quinones, phenylpropanoids, phytol, piperidinone, N-[4bromo-n-butyl], hexadecanol, caryophyllene, caffeic acids and coniferol were reported by Kaur et al [118], Naz et al [40] and Mostafa et al [119], to be found in Jacaranda mimosifolia and are accountable for the antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antidiabetic and antitumor.…”

Extraction of Java Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) Using Microwave-Assisted Hydro Distillation in Pilot Scale: Parametric Study and Modelling

“…From Table 1, the main components of Java lemongrass oil are geranial (30.06%), zcitral (25.88%), eugenol (12.88%), and betamyrcene (12.84%). These components are the key components responsible for the oil's antibacterial characteristics (Jafari et al, 2012;Mukarram et al, 2021;Onawunmi et al, 1984).…”

“…Lemongrass oil has been reported to have antimicrobial properties (Jafari et al, 2012;Mukarram et al, 2021), antifungal activities (Mukarram et al, 2021;Tzortzakis and Economakis, 2007), anti-angiogenic agent (Piaru et al, 2012), and antioxidant properties (Mukarram et al, 2021). The Cymbopogon citratus oil was also tested for anti-cancer activity (Mukarram et al, 2021;Piaru et al, 2012;Trang et al, 2020). The active components of lemongrass can be grouped into 3, citral-a (geraniol), citral-b (neral), and myrcene.…”

“…The active components of lemongrass can be grouped into 3, citral-a (geraniol), citral-b (neral), and myrcene. Citral-a and citral-b have anti-bacterial activities in essential oils Mukarram et al, 2021).…”

Screening of Microorganisms Capable of Biotransforming Certain Monoterpenes Using Substrate Toxicity Test

“…[7][8][9] At present, many reports are being published on geraniol and citral, demonstrating their potential anticancer effects and their scope in alternative cancer therapy. 10 With the rapidly increasing importance of monoterpenes in the production of human fragrances and tastes, demand for new monoterpenes on the market will continue to rise. At present, most of the flavouring products available in the market are produced by chemical synthesis.…”