Lemongrass And Orange Essential Oils Are Antibacterial Agents

Essential oils are compounds extracted from plants which capture the essence of the plant including its flavor and scent. Essential oils are often used in aromatherapy as they can be inhaled or rubbed on the skin to stimulate the limbic system which is associated with breathing, behaviors, emotions, blood pressure, and heart rate.

Lemongrass essential oil is derived from stalk and leaves of the lemongrass plant. Lemongrass oil is commonly used for cooking, scent for cleaning liquids, and as an herbal medicine to help with digestive problems, high blood pressure, stress, anxiety, and depression. Orange essential oil is similar being commonly used as a sedative, to treat spasms, stimulate urination, and help relieve depression.

This study focused on potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the two essential oils, extracting them using hydrodistillation which is a common method to acquire essential oils that essentially carries away volatile materials from the plant material in steam form that is condensed and separated.

Researchers subjected the two essential oils to experiments to evaluate their antioxidant activity including DPPH radical scavenging activity, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, reducing power and metal chelating activity, and determination of total phenolic and flavonoid content. Lemongrass essential oils were found to have higher total phenolic and flavonoid content and exhibited higher DPPH radical scavenging and metal chelating activities.

Antibacterial properties of the two essential oils were tested against pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, as well as non-pathogenic bacteria Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus casei. The pour plate method was used to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration needed to inhibit growth and the minimum bactericidal concentration needed to kill bacteria. Findings showed both essential oils are only effective against pathogenic bacteria, with lemongrass essential oil antibacterial activity being more potent of the two.

Based of the results of their study the researchers concluded that in addition to many health benefits of the two essential oils they possess antioxidant and antibacterial activities adding to the list of benefits they carry making them more even more powerful.

Along with orange and lemongrass essential oils there are others that possess antibacterial activity such as tea tree oil, oregano oil, and bergamot essential oils. Tea tree oil has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Oregano oil has antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and pain relieving properties. Bergamot oils have strong antibacterial properties that have been used to treat many conditions.