• Botanical Name: Cymbopogan flexuosus
• Family: Graminae
• Flowering and fruiting: July-Sept
• Parts Used: Whole Plant
• Distribution: Cultivated throughout plain area of Nepal.
• Method of Extraction: Steam Distillation

Description:

A perennial grass about 3m tall. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 125 cm long. 1.7 cm broad. Flowers grayish or grayish green, rarely purple tinged, in drooping panicles.

Specification of Lemon Grass
1. Organoleptic Properties
Appearance	Fluid liquid.
Color	Deep yellow to orange-brown.
Aroma	Fresh-grassy lemon-type.
2. Physico-chemical Properties
Specific gravity	0.8725 to 0.8965 at 25º C
Optical rotation	[-] 1.25º to [-] 5º at 25º C.
Refractive index	1.4850 to 1.4936 at 25º C
Acid number	2 to 10
Ester number	15 to 40
Ester number after acetylation	220 to 260
Solubility	Soluble in 0.5 to 1.5 vol. of 80% alcohol
3. Chemical constituent:
Herbs afford an essential oil containing Citral A and Citral B as major component and others are ά and β-pinene, camphene, limonene, linalol, nerol, geraniol and Geranyl Acetate.
4. Uses
Plant is aromatic, stimulant, diaphortetic, anthelmintic and laxative. Leaves are chewed to cure sore gums. Oil is used as insect repellent. In flavors, cosmetics and perfumery Medicinal & Aromatherapy use:Athlete's foot, insect repellent, scabies, muscular aches and pains, poor circulation, insufficient milk in breast feeding mothers, colitis, indigestion, fevers, infections illness, headaches, nervous exhaustion and other stress related disorders.