The bibliographic citations are derived from Medline databases through the National Library of Medicine.
Analgesic effects
Lorenzetti BB, Souza GE, Sarti SJ, Santos Filho D, Ferreira SH (1991. Myrcene mimics the peripheral analgesic activity of lemongrass tea. J Ethnopharmacol, 34(1): 43-8.
Summary: This study investigated the analgesic effect of lemongrass tea ingestion
on induced hyperalgesia in rats. A peripheral site of action was indicated
and confirmed with use of the essential oil. Myrcene was identified as the major
analgesic component in the oil, and myrcene’s peripheral analgesic
effect was confirmed. In contrast to morphine, myrcene did not cause tolerance
when injected repeatedly into rats. The authors concluded that myrcene
and plants that contain it offer leads in developing new peripheral analgesics.
da-Silva VA, de-Freitas JC, Mattos AP, Paiva-Gouvea W, Presgrave OA, Fingola FF, Menezes MA, Paumgartten FJ (1991). Neurobehavioral study of the effect of beta-myrcene on rodents. Braz J Med Biol Res, 24(8):827-31.
Summary: This study investigated the effect of beta-myrcene on rats and mice,
testing the folk use of lemongrass tea for anxiolytic (anti-anxiety), hypnotic,
and
central analgesic effects. No evidence was found for anxiolytic, antidepressive,
or antipsychotic effects on the central nervous system. However, the
authors concluded that the use of lemongrass may still be justified because
of its analgesic properties.
Anti-infective effects
Pattnaik S, Subramanyam VR, Rath CC (1998). Effect of essential oils on the viability and morphology of Escherichia coli (SP-11). Microbios, 84(340):195-9.
Summary: Essential oils from eucalyptus, lemongrass, peppermint and palmarosa were tested against a strain of E.coli. All four oils killed the strain at very low dilutions.
Pattnaik S, Rath C, Subramanyam VR (1995). Characterization of resistance to essential oils in a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (VR-6). Microbios, 81(326):29-31.
Summary: These researchers found a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa harboring
a plasmid. This strain was not inhibited by large concentrations of essential
oils of
eucalyptus, lemongrass, palmarosa, or peppermint. Resistance to the bactericidal
effects of the oils was demonstrated.
Pattnaik S, Subramanyam VR, Kole C (1996). Antibacterial and antifungal activity of ten essential oils in vitro. Microbios 86(349):237-46.
Summary: The essential oils were tested against 22 bacterial strains and
twelve fungi strains by the disc diffusion method. Lemongrass oil inhibited
all 22 bacterial strains
and all 12 fungi strains in low dilutions.
Last updated 03.24.05
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