Lemongrass Essential Oil Components with Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities
Mohammad Mukarram,
Sadaf Choudhary,
Mo Ahamad Khan,
Palmiro Poltronieri,
M. Masroor A. Khan,
Jamin Ali,
Daniel Kurjak,
Mohd Shahid
Affiliations
Mohammad Mukarram
Advance Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Sadaf Choudhary
Advance Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Mo Ahamad Khan
Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Palmiro Poltronieri
Institute of Sciences of Food Productions, ISPA-CNR, National Research Council of Italy, Via Monteroni km 7, 73100 Lecce, Italy
M. Masroor A. Khan
Advance Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Jamin Ali
Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Newcastle ST5 5BG, UK
Daniel Kurjak
Department of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovakia
Mohd Shahid
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Road 2904 Building 293 Manama, 329, Bahrain
The prominent cultivation of lemongrass (Cymbopogon spp.) relies on the pharmacological incentives of its essential oil. Lemongrass essential oil (LEO) carries a significant amount of numerous bioactive compounds, such as citral (mixture of geranial and neral), isoneral, isogeranial, geraniol, geranyl acetate, citronellal, citronellol, germacrene-D, and elemol, in addition to other bioactive compounds. These components confer various pharmacological actions to LEO, including antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. These LEO attributes are commercially exploited in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food preservations industries. Furthermore, the application of LEO in the treatment of cancer opens a new vista in the field of therapeutics. Although different LEO components have shown promising anticancer activities in vitro, their effects have not yet been assessed in the human system. Hence, further studies on the anticancer mechanisms conferred by LEO components are required. The present review intends to provide a timely discussion on the relevance of LEO in combating cancer and sustaining human healthcare, as well as in food industry applications.
