The wonderful uses of lemongrass

Lemongrass is warm, stimulates digestion, and is antibacterial. In addition to being used as medicine, lemongrass also produces precious essential oils.

Lemongrass - A remedy for colds

Lemongrass, scientific name Cymbopogon citratus (L.) Pers, family Poaceae. In the highlands, lemongrass is burned to ashes to make salt, used everywhere as a spice, as medicine to treat colds, indigestion, to boil water for bathing, to wash hair. Planted along fences to repel mosquitoes and snakes. Grow a lot of lemongrass to extract essential oils for domestic use and export. In the world, only a few countries have lemongrass. Vietnam has a climate suitable for lemongrass, so lemongrass grows well in the wild, planted and transplanted throughout the country.

Lemongrass has a spicy taste and warm properties that affect two meridians: Lung and Stomach. Some authors say lemongrass also affects the Bladder meridian.

Medicine:

Cold relief: Steam pot to relieve cold and flu. Cook with other aromatic leaves (grapefruit, perilla, bamboo leaves…).

Cold relief powder package: 40g dried lemongrass, 40g dried patchouli, 40g dried mint, 20g old tangerine peel, 20g processed bear root, 20g licorice. Dry, grind into powder and pack into 20g package. Adults take 2 packages divided into 4 times a day. Children take 1/2 dose. Drink with hot water, lie down to sweat. If vomiting, add 3 slices of ginger, steep in water and drink together.

Treating diarrhea due to cold (cold and dampness): 12g roasted lemongrass, 12g roasted galangal, 8g grilled fresh ginger, 8g rose myrtle buds (or 12g roasted guava buds). Take 500ml of water and boil until half remains. Divide into 2 doses to drink during the day.

Cure cough due to cold: 30g fresh lemongrass, 20g fresh ginger, 30g honey. Crush lemongrass with ginger, filter to get 200ml of water, mix with honey, simmer until boiling. Divide into 3 doses to drink during the day.

Treating painful swelling and injuries: 12g old lemongrass, 12g cassia, 12g gotu kola, 12g cogon root, 12g eclipta prostrata, 12g Xanthium, 12g Cynomorium, 12g Cynomorium, 8g mugwort, 8g Morinda root, 3 slices of ginger, 4g moxa. Boil 3 bowls down to 1 bowl, mix with 1 small glass of wine to drink.

Essential oil production:

Based on botany, lemongrass is divided into 9 types; but based on essential oils, lemongrass is divided into 2 types: the type that provides geranitol and the type that provides citral (lemongrass). The North focuses on geranitol essential oil, while the South focuses on lemongrass for citral. European and American countries have to import lemongrass to make geranitol for cosmetic technology. Even more valuable is that people make many substances to use as fixatives, to change the smell and fragrance. Lemongrass essential oil contains nearly 80% a.citral and b.citral and many other valuable ingredients.

From lemongrass essential oil, preparations are made to repel insects in the house, make mosquito repellent solutions, and solutions to relieve itching caused by mosquito bites. These products effectively serve people living in areas with many mosquitoes, especially when there is an epidemic of dengue fever transmitted by mosquitoes. When there is no essential oil, we can boil lemongrass in water and more simply, use lemongrass or lemongrass leaves to make mosquito repellent brooms, or place lemongrass in places where mosquitoes gather, such as under the bed. Lemongrass will effectively contribute to repelling mosquitoes in the prevention of dengue fever.

After distilling the essential oil, lemongrass residue is an organic fertilizer, used as raw material for weaving carpets, sacks, braiding ropes, making paper and many other benefits. It is also worthy of being a “basic” industrial crop in the cause of hunger eradication and poverty reduction for all classes of our people. Every household should grow lemongrass on an appropriate scale.

According to VOV