Nutraceutical ingredient and delicious tea
L E M O N G R A S S
Properties:
- From it you get the essential oil called Lemongrass.
- It is carminative, digestive and for the treatment of flatulence.
- In infusion it is used as an aromatic and febrifuge tonic.
- It is widely used as an insect repellent, particularly mosquitoes
- Despite this effect, it is against, attractive to bees, so it is used to recover swarms
- It has a preservative effect on some foods.
The main active components of its extract, geraniol and citronelol, are antiseptic and confer fungistatic and even bactericidal properties. Lemon grass grows in warm, temperate climates. It requires the presence of light for its growth. Resists the severities of winter, since it supports rain but not in excess. It does not tolerate fogs. The amount of plant essential oil varies from month to month in the year, with the months of June, July and August being the most essential oil produced by the plant. This is mainly because the heat and the sun of these months cause the plant to accumulate more essential oil, while in more humid times the oil yield decreases. One of the main causes for this crop to vary in its production are the environmental factors (climatic, nutritional and other conditions), which directly affect the expression of the genes responsible for the production of the active ingredients.
Scientific Name: Cymbopogon citratus,
Cymbopogon citrarus or lemongrass, is a species of grass belonging to the family of the Poaceae. It is an herbaceous, perennial, aromatic and robust plant that propagates by cuttings and belongs to the family of Gramineae.
The flowers gather in spikelets 30-60 cm long forming clusters. The leaves are very aromatic and elongated like slats, rough, light green color that sprout from the ground forming dense bushes. The flowers are grouped in spikes and are folded like the leaves. It is native to India, Ceylon and Malaysia. Currently, it is cultivated as a medicinal plant in tropical and subtropical zones, including the ecuadorian jungle.
It also receives the common names of: lemon grass, lemon balm, lemon grass, lemon grass, lemon grass, lemon tea, straw, lemon cane, caña santa, fever grass, lemon straw, malojillo, lemongrass, lemon verbena Paraguayan cedron capii. In French it is called "citronnelle". In Venezuela it is known as "malojillo" or "citronera". It is also known as yerba luisa or hierba luisa in Ecuador, although this name is more appropriately applied to a very different plant with a similar smell, Aloysia citriodora.
