Lemon Grass Oil - ( Perfume )

                          LEMON GRASS OIL

 

INTRODUCTION 


Lemon grass (Cymbopogan flexuosus) is a native aromatic tall sedge (family: Poaceae) which grows in many parts of tropical and sub-tropical South East Asia and Africa. In India, it is cultivated along Western Ghats (Maharashtra, Kerala), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states besides foot-hills of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. It was introduced in India about a century back and is now commercially cultivated in these States.

BACKGROUND

Origin

Most of the species of lemon grass are native to South Asia, South-east Asia and Australia. The so called East Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) , also  known as Malabar or Cochin grass is native to India , Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand ; for the related West Indian lemon grass (C. citratus ), a Malesian origin is generally assumed. Both the species are today cultivated throughout tropical Asia.






Botanical Description


Lemon grass is a tall, perennial sedge throwing up dense fasciclles of leaves from a short rhizome. The culm is stout, erect, upto 1.8 meter high. Leaves are long, glaucous, green, linear tapering upwards and along the margins; ligule very short; sheaths terete, those of the barren shoots widened and tightly clasping at the base, others narrow and separating. It is a short day plant and produce profuse flowering in South India. The inflorescence is a long spike about one metre in length. Flowers borne on decompound spatheate ; panicles 30 to over 60 cm long.

Area and Production


At present, India grows this crop in 3,000 ha area, largely in states of Kerala, Karnataka, U.P. and Assam and the annual production ranges between 300-350 t/annum.

Economic Importance


The oil is distilled from leaves and flowering tops of Lemon grass. The oil has strong lemon-like odour, due to high percentage ( over 75%) of citral in the oil. The characteristic smell of oil makes its use in scenting of soaps, detergents, insect repellent preparations. However, the major use of oil is as a source of citral, which goes in perfumery, cosmetics, beverages and is a starting material for manufacture of ionones, which produces vitamin – A. The Citral rich oil has germicidal, medicinal and flavouring properties. An allied species called West Indian lemon grass (C.citratus) has low citral content in the oil and has meager trade in the country.


MARKET ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY

Demand and Supply Patterns


During early fifties India produced over 1800 t/annum of this oil and held monopoly both in production and world trade. This situation no longer exists as Guatemala, China, Mexico, Bangladesh etc. have developed its cultivation over large areas.


Currently the world production of oil of Lemon grass is around 600 t/annum. However, another 600 t of a substitute oil viz., Litsea cubeba (rich in citral) is exported by China (price Rs.400/kg) which limits the scope for any faster growth in export trade of lemon grass oil.  Synthetic citral is also available which competes with this oil and natural citral in market. The current price of oil is Rs.350 to 400/kg (price has increased in recent months).  The price of citral varies from Rs.500 to Rs.550/kg (vide Graph-I).


The trend in prices of oil both in the domestic and international markets during the five year period i.e. 1998-2002 are depicted in the graph below.  There are two markets for lemon grass oil presently viz., Cochin and Mumbai.  The agents of processing / exporting companies visit the production area, check up the quality of the crop and agree up a price with the producer.  The purchaser collects the produce at the site on agreed price and bears the cost of further transportation / processing.

   Growing and Potential Belts

Lemon grass is widely cultivated in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu in the southern region, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal in the northern region and Assam in the north-eastern region. At present, East Indian lemon grass (C.flexuosus) is mainly cultivated in the western part of India.

It can be cultivated throughout Andhra Pradesh either as a rainfed or irrigated crop in poor and marginal soils, wastelands and alkaline soils having pH 9.6.

Varieties

The varieties of lemon grass grown in the country include the following :

Table-1: Currently grown varieties and their description

Variety	Description
Sugandhi (OD 19)	·         It is adapted to a wide range of soil and climatic condition. ·         A red stemmed variety with plant height 1 to 1.75 m and profuse tillering. ·         The oil yield ranges from 80 to 100 kg per hectare with 85-88 per cent of total citral produced under rain-fed conditions (with life saving irrigation).
Pragati	·         It is a tall growing variety with dark purple leaf sheath suitable for north Indian Plains and tarai belt of subtropical and tropical climate. ·         Average oil content is 0.63 per cent with 75-82 per cent citral.
Praman	·         Evolved through clonal selection and belong to species C. pendulus. ·         It is a medium sized variety with erect leaves and profuse tillering. ·         The oil yield is high with 82 per cent citral.
Jama Rosa	·         Very hardy with vigorous growth. ·         The variety yields about 35 tonnes of herbage per ha. containing 0.4 % oil(FWB). ·         The variety yields upto 300kg oil in 4-5 cuts in 16-18 months growing period.
RRL 16	·         Average herbage yield of this variety is 15 to 20 tonnes/hectare/annum giving 100 to 110 kg oil. ·         The oil content varies from 0.6 to 0.8 per cent (fresh weight basis) with 80 per cent citral.
CKP 25	·         A hybrid between C.khasianum X C.pendulus. ·         Gives 60 t/ha herbage in North Indian plains under irrigation. ·         The oil contains 82.85% citral.
Other Varieties	·         OD-408, Kaveri (OD-408 is white stemmed selection from OD-19 and is an improvement in yield in terms of oil and citral content. Kaveri needs high soil moisture to produce luxuriant growth and is evolved for river valley tracts.)

Krishna, Pragati and Cauvery are improved varieties of lemongrass suitable for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh. OD-19 is an old and established variety.

Harvesting and Yield

Lemongrass flowers in winter season. The first harvest is generally obtained after 4 to 6 months of transplanting seedlings. Subsequent harvests are done at intervals of 60-70 days depending upon the fertility of the soil and other seasonal factors. Under normal conditions, three harvests are possible during the first year, and 3-4 in subsequent years, depending on the management practices followed. Harvesting is done with the help of sickles, the plants are cut 10 cm above ground-level and allowed to wilt in the field, before transporting to the distillation site.

Depending upon soil and climatic conditions, plantation lasts on an average, for 3-4 years only. The yield of oil is less during the first year but it increases in the second year and reaches a maximum in the third year; after this, the yield declines. On an average, 25 to 30 tonnes of fresh herbage are harvested per hectare per annum from 4 -6 cuttings, which yields about 80 kg of oil. Under irrigated conditions from newly bred varieties an oil yield of 100-150 kg/ha is obtained. The fresh herb contains on an average 0.3% oil and thick stems are removed before distillation as these are devoid of oil.

POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT

Drying

The grass is allowed to wilt for 24 hours before distillation as it reduces the moisture content by 30% and improves oil yield. The crop is chopped into small pieces before filling in the stills. It can be distilled in same distilleries as used for Japanese mint in India. 

Distillation

Oil is obtained through steam distillation. The oil has a strong lemon like odour. The oil is yellowish in colour having 75-85% citral and small amount of other minor aroma compounds. The recovery of oil from the grass ranges from 0.5 - 0.8 per cent. It takes about 4 hours for complete recovery of the oil. 

Purification of Oil

The insoluble particles present in the oil are removed by simple filtration method after mixing it with anhydrous sodium sulphate and keeping it overnight or for 4-5 hours. In case the colour of the oil changes due to rusting then it should be cleaned by steam rectification process.

Storage and Packing of Oil

The oil can be stored in glass bottles or containers made up of stainless steel or aluminium or galvanized iron, depending upon the quantity of oil to be stored. The oil should be filled up to the brim and the containers should be kept away from direct heat and sunlight in cool/shaded places.

SOURCES OF TECHNOLOGY

(i)                  Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015,

[Tel: (0522) 2359623]

(ii)                Regional Research Laboratory, Jorhat-785006, Tel: (0376)2320353.

(iii)               G.B.Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pant Nagar – 263145, Distt. – Udham Singh Nagar, Uttaranchal [Tel: (05944) 223 3333, 223 3500

(iv)              Herbal Research and Development Institute, Aromatic Plants Centre, Sailakui, Dehradun.

(v)                Director, Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, Ranikhet, Almora – 263 651.

(vi)              District Bheshaz Sangh, Uttaranchal.

(vii)             Horticulture Department, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore – 641003.  [[Tel: (0422) 2445414]