Citronella Oil

Botanical Name of Citronella: Cymbopogon nardus Rendle & Cintroneela winteratus Jowitt 

Synonyms: Ceylon citronella, Cymbopogon winteratus, Java type citronella 

About Citronella: Citronella is obtained from steam distillation of a greenish blue plant which has scent of lemon. There are two major categories of such Oil which are traded today in makets:

• Ceylon Citronella Oil
• Java Citronella Oil

Some time back Ceylon Citronella Oil was the one which was mostly produced and traded around the world but these days Java Citronella is considered more dominant of the two varieties. In the modern times Citronella is widely used as a perfumery chemical and is also being used as a fragrance base in many toiletries and cosmetics.

History of Citronella: Citronella has been known long o the mankind and was primarily used for its fragrance and flavour in food and beverages. Then its therapeutic properties were discovered and it was started being used in the traditional medicines. Earliest examples of Citronella being used as a medicine was of it being added in Green Tea and given to patients. The Tea not only flavoured better but also had medicinal properties like diuretic, antispasmodic and vermifuge. Its traditional usage was also that of an insect repellent. Today China and Indonesia are the two major producers of Citronella essential Oil in the world.

Properties of Citronella Oil: The Ceylon variety of Citronella Oil contains large amount of monoterpenes (approximately 27%) whereas the Java variety have considerably far lesser amount of this constituent and it ranges up to roughly between 1% to 3%. When it comes to Geraniol, both these varieties have almost equal amount of this constituent (approximately between 18% to 21%). Why Java variety is considered a superior variety of Cintronella Oil is because its citronellol (16%) & citronellal(33%) are much higher when compared to the Ceylon variety. Ceylon type only contains 8% and 5% of Cintronellol and Citronellal respectively.

Health Benefits and Applications Citronella Oil:

Citronella Oil is known to have number of benefits, some of the important ones include:

Anti Bacterial and Anti Septic properties: A chemical constituent named ‘methyl isoeugenol’ is primarily responsible for providing Anti Bacterial properties to Citronella Oil. This oil is effective to treat infections in wounds,  colon, urinary tracts, stomach, kidneys, etc.

Anti Depressant: The aroma oil is such that it stimulates our brain and relaxes it. The depression or anxiety can be treated by using Citronella Oil.     

Anti inflammatory – This Oil is very effective in reducing inflammation to organs related to our digestive system like, liver, stomach and intestines.

Deodorant – One of the most primitive usages of citronella Oil has been as a deodorant. The fresh Lemon like fragrance of this Oil takes care of our bad body odour.

Insect Repellent – Many insects and flees can be kept away using Citronella. The smell of the oil keeps even some of the most deadly mosquitoes away.

Other therapeutic properties of Citronella oil – diuretic, Anti spasmodic, Febrifuge, Fungicide, Stimulant, Vermifuge, Tonic etc.

Contact Us for more details on Citronella Oil and your commercial requirements for it.