Korean J Vet Res.  2015 Mar;55(1):13-20. 10.14405/kjvr.2015.55.1.13.

Biological activities and acute oral toxicity of citronella and lemongrass oil

• Park JY
• Kim JY
• Jang SH
• Kim HJ
• Lee SJ
• Park SC

• KMID: 2128675
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14405/kjvr.2015.55.1.13

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant, and termite repellent effects of citronella oil (CiO) and lemongrass oil (LO). When the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus (S.) aureus with various levels of antibacterial resistance were tested, a 0.05% concentration of CiO and LO completely inhibited the growth of all tested S. aureus strains. Evaluation of the antioxidant effect demonstrated that the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of CiO was 2~3 times greater than that of LO. Among trial products made with various combinations of CiO and LO, a CiO : LO ratio of 6 : 4 had the most potent termite repellent effects. Assessment of acute toxicity of the trial product showed that the LD50 was more than 2,000 mg/kg. Based on the above results, CiO and LO have antibacterial, antioxidant, and termite repellent activities. Therefore, both compounds could be potential termites repellent reagents.

Keyword

citronella oil; lemongrass oil; DPPH; termites repellent

MeSH Terms

Antioxidants
Cymbopogon*
Indicators and Reagents
Isoptera
Lethal Dose 50
Staphylococcus
Antioxidants
Indicators and Reagents