Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Lemon grass is a tall, lemon-scented grass grown across West Africa. In Yoruba it is called koriko oba. The leaves, fresh or dried, are steeped in hot water to make a everyday tea.
People drink it for fevers, colds, upset stomach and to settle the nerves. The same plant gives lemongrass essential oil, which is far stronger than the tea. That oil is made for scent and diluted skin use, not for drinking.
Here is the honest verdict. Lemon grass has a long and respected place in West African home care. Traditional use is not proof that a remedy works, and it is not proof that it is safe; the human trials are few, small and mixed.
No one has shown in people that lemon grass treats a disease. What follows is proposed, not proven.
In test tubes, the oil and its main compound citral slow the growth of some bacteria and yeasts. Whether that happens in the mouth, gut or on skin is not established. The tea is far weaker than the oil used in those tests.
In animal studies, lemon grass extracts have lowered fever, eased pain and calmed behaviour. Animal results often fail to repeat in people. In cell studies the plant's flavonoids appear to damp down signals linked to swelling.
Some of the comfort people feel is likely simpler. A warm drink and a strong, pleasant smell can relax you on their own. That is a real effect, but it is not a drug effect.
Lemon grass reaches you in several very different strengths.
- Fresh leaves and stalks, cut and steeped at home - Dried leaf, loose or in tea bags - Leaf powder, sold for drinks and cooking - Essential oil, highly concentrated, for scent and diluted skin use - Hydrosol or floral water, a weak by-product of oil making - Soaps, creams, sprays and insect repellents - Food uses, in soups, stews, pastes and marinades
The gap between a tea bag and the essential oil is huge. Most safety worries on this page belong to the oil, not the cup.
Lemon grass has long standing in West African home medicine. In Yoruba it is koriko oba, and the leaves were boiled as a fever drink. It was also used in steam baths for colds and in washes for the skin.
Healers gave the tea for stomach pain, wind and restless sleep. Mothers used it for children's fevers. Planted near houses, it also served to keep insects away.
The plant travelled widely. It became a common tea in the Caribbean and Brazil, and a kitchen herb across South and South East Asia. Those older uses tell us the plant was valued and widely tolerated, not that it treats any named illness.
Stop lemon grass and see a doctor if you get any of these.
- Swelling of the lips, tongue or face, or trouble breathing - A spreading rash, blisters or burning skin after using the oil - Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, or pain under the right ribs - Dizziness or fainting, or unusually low blood sugar readings
Go to an emergency department at once if anyone swallows the essential oil, or if a child does. Take the bottle with you.
A fever above 39C, a fever lasting more than three days, or a fever with a stiff neck or confusion needs urgent medical care, not tea.
In the United States, lemon grass is a recognised food flavouring and is sold as a tea and supplement. In the UK, EU and most of West Africa it is treated as an ordinary food and herbal product.
No medicines regulator has approved it to treat any illness.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
The published evidence for Lemon grass (tea bush) is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
One email with the summary. We'll also send a short weekly evidence update — unsubscribe any time.
