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Abstract
The use of herbal preparations remained the main approach of folk medicine to the treatment of ailments and debilitating diseases. Initial intensive researches conducted on Lemongrass extracts (tea) may have showed conflicting evidences, however the resurgence in claims of folk medicine practitioners necessitated further inquiry into the efficacy of the tea. Lemongrass tea contains several biocompounds in its decoction, infusion and essential oil extracts. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-obesity, antinociceptive, anxiolytic and antihypertensive evidences of lemongrass tea were clearly elucidated to support initial pharmacological claims. Lemongrass tea was non-toxic, non-mutagenic and receives wide acceptance among alternative medicine practitioners in several developing countries. This review therefore presents previous research activities, technologies and information surrounding bioactivities of lemongrass tea. Areas of future researches which may elucidate mechanisms of the biological properties of lemongrass extracts were highlighted.
Article history
Received: 24 January 2013
Received in revised form: 24 October 2013
Accepted: 7 November 2013
Keywords
Lemongrass
Bioactivities
Biological properties
Decoction
Infusion
Introduction
The use of whole herbs and extractives has remained the main approach of folk medicine practitioners in the treatment of ailments and debilitating diseases. They usually claimed that such whole herbs and extractives are efficacious against several ailments and diseases without recourse to scientific proofs. Increased cases of opportunistic diseases emanating from side effects associated with synthetic drugs continue to necessitate incremental efforts in searching for effective biological substitutes with little or no side effects. Therefore, efforts are being directed towards elucidating potential sources such as ethno-medicinal plants (Patil, 2010). New, robust and less cumbersome extraction techniques assisted by recent developments in biotechnology have enhanced investigation of natural compounds faster with more precision than before leading to isolation of bioactive compounds with intense health benefits (Wang and Weller, 2006). According to folk medicine, several plants possess ethno medicinal benefits and Cymbopogon citratus Stapf, also known as lemongrass remained one of them.
Lemongrass is a perennial grass plant widely distributed worldwide and most especially in tropical and subtropical countries (Francisco et al., 2011). Several reports have linked its origin to Asia (Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia), Africa and the Americas. The plant could grow up to 6 inch high and its bulblike stems consist of terete and glabrous linearly venated sheathed leaves with narrow base and acute...