Lemongrass: health properties and how to use it

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is mainly known to us as an aromatic base of Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, and in Brazil, India, and West Africa, an infusion made from it has been consumed for generations for stomach ailments and calming effects. A lot of promises have accumulated around this second use, which do not withstand scrutiny against research. The strongest results concern the essential oil studied in vitro and in animals, and the only trial conducted in humans using the infusion yielded negative results. This article separates these three levels of evidence, shows where the boundary lies between them, and explains why the essential oil should not be confused with tea. The plant remains valuable, but for a different reason than is usually written.

KEY INFORMATION
• Leite et al. (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1986) administered lemongrass infusion to 50 volunteers in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Sleep onset, sleep quality, and dream recall did not differ from placebo, and no anxiolytic effect was found in 18 individuals with high anxiety levels.
• The same study showed that the infusion is non-toxic: after two weeks of daily consumption, blood, urine, EEG, and EKG parameters remained normal.
• Calming effects were shown in mice, but for the essential oil administered in grams per kilogram of body weight (Blanco et al., Phytomedicine, 2009), not for the tea.
• The citral content in the oil varies with the harvest time from about 60 to 82 percent (Madi et al., Natural Product Research, 2021), so two oils from the same plant may not be the same raw material.

What does lemongrass contain and what affects its composition?

The main component of the essential oil is citral, which is a mixture of geranial (alpha citral) and neral (beta citral). However, its proportion is not constant, and this is the most practical information about this plant, as it explains why two preparations with the same name can behave differently.

Madi et al. (Natural Product Research, 2021) distilled oil from fresh lemongrass leaves grown in Egypt across four seasons. The distillation yield ranged from 0.15 to 0.46 percent of the mass, highest in spring and lowest in winter. The citral content in the obtained oil reached 82.02 percent in autumn and 80.01 percent in summer, dropping to 60.01 percent in winter. Oxidized monoterpenes constituted from 73.22 to 89.32 percent of the composition, and chromatography detected between 25 and 63 different compounds in subsequent samples.

This is a variation that cannot be ignored. The difference between the winter and autumn samples is over twenty percentage points in the content of the main active ingredient, with the same plant and the same distillation method. Therefore, any number describing the “effects of lemongrass” refers to a specific batch of raw material, not to the species.

Shah et al. (Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research, 2011) in a literature review mention alongside citral geraniol, nerol, citronellal, terpinolene, geranyl acetate, and myrcene, as well as flavonoids and phenolic compounds: luteolin, iso-orientin, quercetin, kaempferol, and apigenin. The latter group passes into water much more readily than the volatile oil, which is significant when making an infusion.

Does lemongrass have antibacterial and antifungal effects?

In vitro, yes, and quite clearly. Outside of the test tube, this has not been verified in humans, and the transition from one level to another is not obvious in this case.

Shah et al.’s review collects studies in which lemongrass oil inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphi, and Shigella flexneri. The antifungal results are stronger and more reproducible: the oil is active against dermatophytes causing skin infections, namely Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Microsporum gypseum, and the authors of the review call it one of the most active agents against human dermatophytes.

Citral was separately tested against the yeast Candida albicans. Leite et al. (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014) determined the inhibitory concentration at 64 micrograms per milliliter and the fungicidal concentration at 256, with four hours of contact sufficient to kill 99.9 percent of the culture. The same study clarifies a widespread explanation of the mechanism: the researchers checked the binding of citral to ergosterol in the cell membrane and its action on the cell wall and ruled both out. Contrary to what is often read, citral does not act like azole drugs, and its antifungal mechanism remains undetermined.

The practical consequence is simple. The results were obtained for the oil and isolated citral in direct contact with the microorganism, not for the infusion consumed and absorbed. Lemongrass infusion is not a remedy for infection and does not replace treatment.

Does lemongrass infusion have calming effects and help with sleep?

This was tested in humans, and the result was negative. This is the most important sentence of this article, as the widely repeated opinion about the calming effects of the infusion is based on tradition and animal studies, not on a trial involving humans, although such a trial has existed for forty years.

Leite et al. (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1986) administered an infusion made from dried leaves prepared in the Brazilian way, called abafado, to healthy volunteers. The sedative effect was tested on 50 individuals in a double-blind placebo-controlled study, measuring sleep onset, sleep quality, dream recall, and awakenings. None of these parameters differed from placebo. Eighteen individuals with high anxiety levels were subsequently subjected to an anxiety-inducing test after consuming either the infusion or placebo, also in a blinded manner. The anxiety level was the same in both groups. The authors conclude directly that the infusion has no sedative or anxiolytic properties.

However, the same study brings a positive result, albeit in a different context. After a single dose and two weeks of daily consumption, no changes were observed in glucose, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, liver function tests, protein, or urine analysis, and EEG and EKG recordings remained normal. Some volunteers experienced slight increases in direct bilirubin and amylase without clinical symptoms. The authors conclude that the infusion is non-toxic for humans. This is good news for someone who simply enjoys the taste. A similar distinction between aroma and effect is described in our article on lavender for sleep and stress.

What accounts for the discrepancy between mice and humans?

Because two different things were tested. Animals were given essential oil in amounts measured in grams per kilogram of body weight, while humans were given an infusion of leaves. This is not the same material or the same order of magnitude.

Blanco et al. (Phytomedicine, 2009) obtained oil from fresh leaves by steam distillation and administered it orally to Swiss strain mice in doses of 0.5 or 1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight half an hour before the test. The oil prolonged sleep induced by pentobarbital, increased the percentage of entries and time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze, and time in the bright part of the cage, as well as delayed seizures induced by pentetrazole and abolished tonic extension after electroshock. Importantly, no impairment of motor function was observed in the rotarod test or in the open field.

It is worth noting that the sedative effect was clear in mice. The statement about anxiolytic effects “without sedation” that circulates in descriptions of this plant does not reflect this study: prolongation of sleep after pentobarbital is indeed a measure of sedative action. The lack of motor impairment only means that the animals were not sedated, not that they were not sleepy.

Translating these doses to an infusion does not make sense. The yield of oil distillation from fresh leaves is a fraction of a percent of their mass, and only a portion of the volatile components passes into a cup of infusion. Therefore, the discrepancy between the results in mice and those in humans is not a contradiction, but a difference in material and dosage.

Lemongrass for digestion: what can be confirmed?

Tradition agrees on this across three continents, but there is a lack of human studies. Shah et al.’s review mentions one animal observation in this area: a decoction from the stems reduced the amount of feces excreted in a dose-dependent manner. This is an anti-diarrheal result, not an antispasmodic one, and these two things can easily be confused when translating folk uses.

The rest of the list from this review looks impressive, and that is precisely why it must be read together with its own disclaimer. It mentions anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic effects, including against the dysentery amoeba. Results against malaria and mycobacteria, as well as antioxidant effects, are described separately. Additionally, it mentions lowering glucose levels. However, the authors summarize them as encouraging and requiring confirmation, not as established medicinal properties. This is their own statement closing the entire work, not a caution added by us.

In practice, this means that an infusion after a heavy meal may be pleasant and safe, but attributing it a specific effect on intestinal spasms goes beyond what anyone has measured. It is also worth remembering where the tradition itself comes from. In Brazil and West Africa, the infusion of leaves was often a home remedy available at hand, much faster than any pharmacy preparation, which explains its popularity regardless of its strength. If you are looking for an herb with a stronger basis for digestive ailments, more data has been collected around bitter plants, which we discuss in our entry on wormwood and its effects on digestion.

How to brew lemongrass and how to use essential oil?

The infusion is prepared from dried leaves or crushed fresh stalks, pouring water just below boiling and steeping covered for several minutes. Covering makes practical sense: without it, volatile components escape with the steam, and mainly the water fraction with flavonoids remains in the vessel. Fresh raw material smells more intense than dried, and the longer the dried material sits, the less volatile fraction remains in it.

The essential oil is a completely different product and requires different handling. It should not be used undiluted on the skin or internally. A few drops go into a diffuser, and for use on the skin, it should only be used highly diluted in a carrier oil, and upon first use, it is advisable to check for reactions on a small patch of skin, as citral is known to have allergenic potential.

In the kitchen, there are no restrictions. The lower, thicker parts of the stalks go into broths, soups, and fish dishes, while the upper leaves are used for infusion. Combining the infusion with ginger, lemon, or mint makes a good cold drink for summer, and the cooked stalk can be eaten. This application has the best basis of all described in this article, as the study by Leite et al. from 1986 showed that the infusion consumed daily for two weeks did not disturb the studied blood or urine parameters, aside from the slight and asymptomatic deviations described above. You can find other herbal infusions and blends in the teas category.

Safety and interactions: what to watch out for?

The infusion has the best-documented safety profile among all forms of this plant, based on human studies, not assumptions. Concerns mainly relate to the essential oil and concentrated preparations.

One interaction worth knowing concerns the CYP2B6 enzyme. Seo et al. (Chemico-Biological Interactions, 2008) studied 22 monoterpenoids and found that citral and geraniol competitively inhibit this enzyme, with inhibition constants of 6.8 and 10.3 micromoles compared to 1.8 micromoles for the standard inhibitor thio-TEPA. It is important to interpret this direction correctly: a higher constant means weaker inhibition, not stronger, and therefore the authors refer to both compounds in the title of the work as moderate inhibitors. They also state that large amounts of these compounds could interact with drugs metabolized by CYP2B6, and they directly call for pharmacokinetic studies in humans to determine whether this has clinical significance. Such studies do not exist, so no one knows today where the limit lies. If you are on regular medication, especially bupropion, discuss concentrated preparations of lemongrass with your doctor or pharmacist.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding are areas without data. The study by Leite et al. involved healthy volunteers, not pregnant women, so its result does not transfer to this group. The same applies to children. It is also worth remembering about allergies: if you are allergic to grass pollen, it is better to start cautiously with a new plant from this family and observe the reaction. A similar approach to strongly aromatic herbs is described in our article on tulsi, or holy basil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does lemongrass help with sleep?

This has not been demonstrated in humans. Leite et al. (1986) administered an infusion to 50 volunteers in a double-blind placebo-controlled study and found no difference in sleep onset, sleep quality, or dream recall. Sedative effects were only shown in mice, and that was for the essential oil in very high doses, not for the tea.

Does lemongrass have calming effects and reduce anxiety?

Not in human studies. Eighteen individuals with high anxiety levels were subjected to an anxiety-inducing test after consuming either the infusion or placebo, and the results were the same in both groups. In mice, the essential oil had anxiolytic effects, but at doses measured in grams per kilogram of body weight, which do not translate to a cup of infusion.

Is lemongrass safe?

The infusion is safe, and this is known from studies, not assumptions. After two weeks of daily consumption, blood, urine, EEG, and EKG parameters of the volunteers did not change. The essential oil is a different matter: it should only be used highly diluted on the skin, never in pure form, as citral can cause allergic reactions.

Does lemongrass fight bacteria and fungi?

In vitro, yes. The oil inhibits the growth of, among others, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and it is most effective against dermatophytes that cause skin infections. Citral at fungicidal concentrations kills Candida albicans within four hours. However, none of these results have been confirmed in humans, so the infusion does not replace treatment.

How much citral is in lemongrass oil?

Madi et al. (2021) measured citral content in Egypt from 60.01 percent in a winter sample to 82.02 percent in a fall sample, using the same plant and distillation method. The yield of the distillation itself ranged from 0.15 to 0.46 percent of the mass of fresh leaves. Therefore, the composition strongly depends on the harvest time.

Does lemongrass interact with medications?

Citral and geraniol inhibit the CYP2B6 enzyme in vitro, which metabolizes, among other things, bupropion. The authors of this study note that the clinical significance cannot be assessed without human studies, and such studies do not exist. If you are on regular medication, discuss concentrated preparations with your doctor or pharmacist.

This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Before starting supplementation, consult your doctor, especially if you are on regular medication, pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a chronic illness.

Author: Michał Waluk · Published: 2026-06-02 · Updated: 2026-08-15