Right now, we are still focussing on the production process of lemongrass oil. Once this is finalized, we can start thinking of new products that can be made with the lemongrass oil. Adding a few production steps will add value to the product and can thus generate a higher income for the villagers. There are many things you can do with lemongrass oil thanks to its various health benefits and fragrance properties:
"The leaves themselves have great healing value when used as a tea for colds, coughs, and congestion. The oil has antimicrobial, fungicidal, and antibacterial properties, making it useful in treating external ringworms, lice, athletes foot, and acne." [2]
According to the different properties, we have made a list of possible derived products:
Fragrance:
- Soap, shampoo, conditioner
- Massage oil
- Hand cream, body lotion
- Perfume [3]
Insect-repelling activity:
- Insect repellent
- Floor mop with insect-repelling property
Antifungal activity [4]:
- Foot cream
References
[1] https://tudelft.openresearch.net/page/17779/the-benefits-of-lemongrass-oil
[2] http://www.shapeinternational.org/2013/06/08/lemon-grass-steam-distillation/
[3] Venkat S. Mane, Dilip D. Rajguru, Prajakta R. Pawar (2015) ‘Formulation of Perfume from Lemongrass’, K. K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education and Research
[4] ‘Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil as a potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs’, Mohamed N. Boukhatem - Mohamed A. Ferhat - Abdelkrim Kameli - Fairouz Saidi - Hadjer T. Kebir, Article in Lybian Journal of Medicine, September 2014