Lemongrass

As my posted for "Lemongrass Herbal Tea", I will let you know more about "Lemongrass".

Cymbopogon is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania. It is a tall perennial grass. Common names include lemon grass, lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, citronella grass, fever grass or Hierba Luisa amongst many others.

Uses of Lemongrass

Lemon grass is widely used as an herb in Asian (particularly Vietnamese, Hmong, Khmer, Thai, Lao, Malaysian, Indonesian, Philippine, Sri Lankan) and Caribbean cooking. It has a citrus flavour and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh. The stalk itself is too hard to be eaten except for the soft inner part. However, it can be finely sliced and added to recipes. It may also be bruised and added whole as this releases the aromatic oils from the juice sacs in the stalk. The main constituent of lemongrass oil is citral, which makes up around 80% of the total.

Lemon grass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It is often used as a tea in African and Latino-American countries (e.g. Togo, Mexico, DR Congo).

East-Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin Grass or Malabar Grass, is native to Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Burma,and Thailand while the West-Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), also known as serai in Malay, is assumed to have its origins in Malaysia. While both can be used interchangeably, C. citratus is more suited for cooking. In India C. citratus is used both as a medical herb and in perfumes.

Lemongrass is used in herbal teas and other nonalcoholic beverages in baked goods, and in confections. Oil from lemongrass is widely used as a fragrance in perfumes and cosmetics, such as soaps and creams. Citral, extracted from the oil, is used in flavoring soft drinks in scenting soaps and detergents, as a fragrance in perfumes and cosmetics, and as a mask for disagreeable odors in several industrial products. Citral is also used in the synthesis of ionones used in perfumes and cosmetics.

As a medicinal plant, lemongrass has been considered a carminative and insect repellent. West Indian lemongrass is reported to have antimicrobial activity. Oil of West Indian lemongrass acts as a central nervous system depressant. Oil of East Indian lemongrass has antifungal activity. The volatile oils may also have some pesticide and mutagenic activities

Lemongrass Herbal Tea

Lemongrass Herbal Tea is used as a therapy for colds, congestion, fever, cough, sore throat and laryngitis. It has a pleasant citrus taste and one of the best herb for killing stress. As a hot herb, lemongrass tea is use as a digestion stimulant in cases of flatulence, indigestion, and constipation. In the hill-tribes villages, fresh lemongrass also used as a general tonic, for bone and joint pain, and topically for sprains, bruises, and sore muscles.

Ref. : http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.hort.purdue.edu