Lemongrass Oil, West Indian

Lemongrass oil, West Indian type is the essential oil obtained from the whole aerial part of the West Indian lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. is a tall, aromatic, perennial grass with culms up to two meters tall and linear leaves, up to one meter long and two centimeters wide. Lemongrass is native to India and Indonesia, and introduced and cultivated in most of the tropics, including Africa, South America and Indo-China. West Indian lemongrass oil is a clear mobile liquid with a soft yellow to yellowish orange color which has a strong lemon note, reminding of citral odor. The yield of essential oil from the grass of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. generally varies from 0.3 to 0.9 per cent. The main producing countries of this oil are Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia (Java), Madagascar, Guinea and Haiti.