Ruminal fermentation, nutrients digestibility, and nitrogen balance in lambs fed diet containing high concentrate and essential oil concentrations of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Context: Essential oils act as alternative medicine and have great therapeutic benefits. Oils derived from Lemon (Citrus limon) and Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) have great importance for stress reduction. No holistic studies compare their chemical composition, essential oil constituents, and efficacy in stress control. Parents who have children with intellectual disabilities (ID) go through the highest levels of stress, which can lead to significant psychological and physical health problems. Therefore, there is a great need for effective stress management interventions that are non-pharmacological. If widely spread interventions work, it can lead to reduced chemical usage rates. Aim: The study's objective was to assess the effects of Lemon (Citrus limon) and Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oils, singly and in combination, on stress and biomotor variables among parents of children with ID. Methods: Quasi-experimental design incorporating a pre-test and post-test control group was conducted. Aromatherapy singly with Lemon, singly with Lemongrass, a blend of both oils individually mixed, a placebo, and the base oil (Sweet almond oil) were given for eight weeks by drops onto an absorbent paper attached to their clothing collar while the parents sat in the shed with fan and fresh air. A purposive sampling method was employed in identifying the participants and community health promoters in identified wards of Kakamega County, Kenya contacted the target households and a simple random formation of groups was employed. Two hundred twenty-eight parents (N=57 per group) completed the study exposures from 250 with a 91.2% response; follow-up rates were maintained at 95%. Stress indicator tools were used to measure stress, and separate blood pressure and heart rate were measured. The essential oils were subject to phytochemical analysis through Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA with the Tukey HSD post hoc test (continuous variables). Results: The three aromatherapy exposures, singly and in combination (Lemongrass, Lemon, and a blend of both Lemon and Lemongrass), significantly reduced physical stress, promoted sleep, and improved the emotion of the parents of children with ID (p < 0.0001). A blend of both oils reduced both systolic blood pressure and heart rate. All three aromatherapy interventions (Lemongrass, Lemon, and Blended) demonstrated statistically significant decreases in Systolic Blood Pressure and Heart Rate post-intervention compared to the pre-intervention (p < 0.0001 for both outcomes). Significant reduction was highest for systolic blood pressure (-14.0; p < 0.0001) and heart rate (-5.3; p < 0.0001) for the blend group (a blend of both Lemon and Lemongrass). There were no changes in the control group. Conclusion: Lemon essential oil and Lemongrass essential oil, singly and combined, reduced stress among parents of children with ID. The blend of both oils offers the best stress reduction benefits and cardiovascular health. This study recommends that parent of children with intellectual disabilities use Lemongrass and Lemon essential oils to reduce stress and improve systolic blood pressure and heart rate since it is natural, safe, cost-effective, and readily available.

Reactive oxygen species mediated-antifungal activity of cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum verum) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oils and their constituents against two phytopathogenic fungi

Simple SummaryThe housefly (Musca domestica) is a global vector of several pathogens and a nuisance to humans and animals. Repellents reduce the risk of housefly vector diseases. Green repellents from plant essential oils (EOs) and their active compounds were, at the time, a promising option against houseflies. This study evaluated the housefly-repellent activities of every tested EO, their main constituents, and several combinations of them. The combinations were lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) EO + trans-anethole, lemongrass EO + star anise (Illicium verum) EO, geranial + trans-anethole, and star anise EO + geranial. The efficacies of every formulation were compared against each other and DEET (a synthetic repellent). All combinations were more effective in repellency than all single-component formulations and DEET. More significantly, all of them were safe for four non-target species: guppy (Poecilia reticulata), molly (Poecilia latipinna), dwarf honeybee (Apis florea), and stingless bee (Tetragonula pagdeni). These combinations could be developed into valuable green repellents for housefly vector disease management.The present study evaluated the housefly repellency of single-component formulations and combinations of lemongrass and star anise essential oils (EOs) and their main constituents. The efficacies of the combinations were compared against those of single-component formulations and DEET. Safety bioassays of all formulations and DEET on non-target species—guppy, molly, dwarf honeybee, and stingless bee—were conducted. GC–MS analysis showed that the main constituent of lemongrass EO was geranial (46.83%) and that of star anise EO was trans-anethole (92.88%). All combinations were highly synergistic compared to single-component formulations, with an increased repellent value (IR) of 34.6 to 51.2%. The greatest synergistic effect was achieved by 1.0% lemongrass EO + 1.0% trans-anethole combination, with an IR of 51.2%. The strongest, 100% repellent rate at 6 h was achieved by 1.0% geranial + 1.0% trans-anethole. They were twice as effective as DEET and caused obvious damage to housefly antennae under microscopic observation. All single-component formulations and combinations were benign to the four tested non-target species. In contrast, DEET was highly toxic to them. The synergistic repellency and biosafety of these two combinations are compellingly strong support for developing them into an effective green repellent.

BackgroundVolatile oils obtained from lemon grass [Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Poaceae family] are used in traditional medicine as remedies for the treatment of various diseases.AimsIn the present study, lemon grass essential oil (LGEO) was evaluated for its in vivo topical and oral anti-inflammatory effects, and for its in vitro antifungal activity using both liquid and vapor phases.MethodsThe chemical profile of LGEO as determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed two major components: geranial (42.2%), and neral (31.5%). The antifungal activity of LGEO was evaluated against several pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi using disc diffusion and vapor diffusion methods. ResultsLGEO exhibited promising antifungal effect against Candida albicans, C.tropicalis, and Aspergillus niger, with different inhibition zone diameters (IZDs) (35–90 mm). IZD increased with increasing oil volume. Significantly, higher anti-Candida activity was observed in the vapor phase. For the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect, LGEO (10 mg/kg, administered orally) significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema with a similar effect to that observed for oral diclofenac (50 mg/kg), which was used as the positive control. Oral administration of LGEO showed dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. In addition, topical application of LGEO in vivo resulted in a potent anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by using the mouse model of croton oil-induced ear edema. To our knowledge, this is the first such report to be published. The topical application of LGEO at doses of 5 and 10 µL/ear significantly reduced acute ear edema induced by croton oil in 62.5 and 75% of the mice, respectively. In addition, histological analysis clearly confirmed that LGEO inhibits the skin inflammatory response in animal models. ConclusionResults of the present study indicate that LGEO has a noteworthy potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of fungal infections and skin inflammation that should be explored in future studies.

Summary The purpose of this study is to assess the repellent activity of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil (EO), grown in Serbia under greenhouse conditions, against four prevalent stored product pests: Plodia interpunctella (larvae), Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum (adults). The lemongrass EO repellency was tested using filter paper in Petri dishes and a Y-tube olfactometer. According to the repellency index (RI), the lemongrass EO repellency was divided into 5 classes. Prior to biotesting, the chemical characterization of lemongrass EO was performed and the following main compounds were detected: myrcene (31.0%), geranial (30.0%), and neral (23.6%). The C. citratus EO considered was found to exhibit the Class III repellent activity against P. interpunctella larvae only at the highest concentration (namely 0.5%). This is the very first report on the C. citratus EO repellent activity against this pest. The lemongrass EO examined showed strong repellency (Class IV) against S. oryzae (0.2% and 0.5% of EO), A. obtectus (0.1% and 0.2%), and T. castaneum (0.05-0.1%). Moreover, higher lemongrass EO concentrations (0.5%) were found to exhibit extreme repellency (Class V) against A. obtectus and T. castaneum. The results obtained were confirmed in the bioassays performed, indicating the great potential of lemongrass EO as a bio-repellent when applied in higher concentrations to all the insects considered, regardless of the exposure period.

This study was designed to evaluate the acaricidal effect and the mode of action of lemongrass essential oil (LEO) against Aleuroglyphus ovatus. Contact and fumigant mortality indicated that LEO had higher acaricidal activities at a low concentration, and the acaricidal action of LEO was significantly more effective by contact effects than by fumigant bioassay. Repellent rate against A. ovatus at different concentrations of LEO increased with application time. Observation on the toxic symptoms revealed that almost all mites were in immobilized type (IM type) in 30 min, but the symptom of knock-down type (KD type) appeared later. Cuticles of mites killed by LEO exhibited obvious colour change and deformation. Detoxification enzyme activity assay showed that glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity increased in mites treated by LEO compared to the controls. LEO increased catalase (CAT) activity of A. ovatus but inhibited superoxide dismutase (SOD) after 20 h. LEO also increased nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) and inhibited acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activities. Moreover, LEO acted as a fast-acting neurotoxin on A. ovatus. Our results suggest that LEO has an acaricidal potential and is a promising agent in control of A. ovatus.

Penicillium expansum Inhibition on Bread by Lemongrass Essential Oil in Vapor Phase

Encapsulation is a potential technique that is widely studied and applied in the preservation of biological compounds and living cells. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil is a biological compound that emits a strong aroma and contains robust antibacterial compounds, hence its applications in various areas such as food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. However, lemongrass essential oil is in a liquid form, so it is easy to evaporate and oxidize when being exposed to temperature variations, oxygen, and light. Hence, the present study was aimed to determine the effects of heating temperature and time on the stability of microencapsulated lemongrass essential oil powder. In this research, microencapsulated powder was produced by the spray-drying method using maltodextrin (30%, w/w) as the wall material and lemongrass (1.5%, w/w) as the core material. Thereafter, the effects of heat during processing, including temperature (60°C to 180°C) and treatment time (from 20 to 80 mins) were evaluated. The results showed that when the temperature and the time increased, the color of powder became darker and OR values were rapidly reduced. The selected optimal temperature and time was 100°C and 20 mins. The encapsulated essential oil maintained its main components including nerol, citral a, citral b, and geraniol, even after being heated.

This research was done to study the effect of four essential oils (EOs), as feed additives, on ruminal nutrient digestibility in order to find out candidate of rumen modifier. Those four EOs were destilated from Foeniculum vulgare (Mill), Pinus merkusii (Jungh. & de Vriese), Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle and Melaleuca leucadendra (L.). Their effect on dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) digestibility were studied using in vitro rumen fermentation technique according to Theodorou method. Data were statistically analysed using analysis of variance factorial 4x5 design. Feed for fermentation substrate consist of Pennisetum purpureum, rice bran and wheat pollard. Essential oil individually was added and mix with substrate to meet the final concentration in fermentation media of 0, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/l. P. merkusii, C. nardus and M. leucadendra EOs reduced DM, OM, and CF digestibilities. The decreasing were in line with the increasing of EOs doses. Therefore F. vulgare only reduced CF digestibility. The value of DM, OM and CP digestibilities in fermentation with F. vulgare did not differ from control. CP digestibility differed among EO treatments. In F. vulgare, and P. merkusii, treatments, CP digestibility did not differ from control, whereas overall CP digestibility in C. nardus tended to be higher than control and CP digestibility in M. leucadendra was significantly higher. All EOs addition reduced CF digestibility at all level. CF digestibility in fermentation added 800 mg/l of M. leucadendra EO was slumped to only 14.29% of control. Among four EOs M. leucadendra is the most potent on interrupt rumen feed fermentation whereas P. merkusii and C. nardus in moderate ways and F. vulgare in delicate manner.

<p align="left"><em>Cymbopogon citratus </em>(Lemon grass)<em> </em>essential oils have been used in swine buildings to reduce the offensive odor emanating from swine buildings. The present study was designed to investigate plasma residues of citral which is a major constituent of the essential oils of <em>Cymbopogon citratus. </em></p><p align="left">An HPLC method was established, validated and used for the determination of citral in swine plasma harvested from blood samples taken at the 14<sup>th</sup>, 21<sup>st</sup> and 28<sup>th</sup> day after spraying swine buildings with the 3% Lemon grass essential oil. Thereafter, analysis of the sample was<em> </em>conducted<em> </em>using HP ODS Hypersil column (200 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol and 0.5% acetic acid; and a flow rate of 1mL/ min. The method was validated for parameters such as accuracy, precision, linearity and detection limits. Plasma spiked with standard citral (95%) revealed two chromatograms with retention times of about 10.7 and 12.2 minutes. The calibration curves for the citral isomers were found to be linear in the tested concentration ranges and mean recoveries wre 101% and 99.17%. This method was used to determine the residues of citral in swine plasma pretreated with methanol.<em> </em>Surprisingly, there was no any detectable level of citral in swine plasma within the 28 days of exposure.</p><p align="left">spraying of swine buildings with essential oils of lemon grass oil does not cause plasma residues of citral.</p><p align="left"> </p>

Simple SummaryPalm kernel oil (PKO) is extracted from an oleaginous seed fruit (Elaeis guineenses Jacq.) commonly cultivated in Brazil and can be used strategically as a ruminal fermentation modulator to improve animal performance. We conducted three experimental trials by increasing PKO levels in the diets of lambs. Although we observed low consumption of most nutrients, we also observed that feed conversion improved as the PKO inclusion level increased, indicating that the animals needed to consume less food to gain 1.0 kg of body weight. In addition, we observed that nutrient digestibility was not affected by the inclusion levels of PKO. We also did not observe differences in ruminal fermentation parameters but noted a reduction in the protozoan population. Therefore, we conclude that the inclusion of palm kernel oil may be beneficial to lambs and can lower the cost of feed in regions that contain an abundance of this byproduct.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of palm kernel oil (PKO) in a lamb diet on nutrient intake, digestibility, ingestive behavior, nitrogen balance, blood metabolites, rumen fermentation parameters, and animal performance. Three experimental trials were conducted. The treatments consisted of varying levels of PKO included in the diet, with PKOzero = no PKO inclusion, PKO1.3 = 1.3% addition, PKO2.6 = 2.6% addition, PKO3.9 = 3.9% addition, and PKO5.2 = 5.2% addition, based on the total dry matter (DM) of the diet. With the inclusion of PKO in the diet, linear decreases in DM (p < 0.001), crude ash (p < 0.001), crude protein (CP) (p < 0.001), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (p < 0.001), nonfibrous carbohydrate (NFC) (p < 0.001), and total digestible nutrient (TDN) (p = 0.021) intake were observed, as was an increase in ether extract (EE) intake (p < 0.001). The digestibility coefficients of NDF and NFC were not affected by PKO addition to the diet. However, the digestibility of DM (p = 0.035), EE (p < 0.001), CP (p < 0.001), and TDNs (p < 0.001) increased when PKO was added to the lambs’ diet. Reductions in N intake (p < 0.001), fecal nitrogen excretion (p < 0.001), and microbial protein production (p < 0.001) were noted with increasing PKO levels. Serum cholesterol increased (p < 0.001) while serum GGT enzyme concentrations in the blood decreased (p = 0.048) with increasing PKO levels. PKO addition had no effect on total weight gain and average daily gain; however, feed conversion improved (p = 0.001) with increasing PKO levels. The intake, digestibility, ingestive behavior, and growth performance of lambs with PKO1.3 added to their diet were similar to animals that did not receive PKO, meaning that PKO could be an alternative energy source for growing lambs because it does not harm animal performance and can lower the cost of feed.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of addition of graded dose of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citrates) essential oils (LGO) on in vitro rumen digestibility and fermentation parameters in buffalo. Two separate experiments were conducted with either oats hay or a mixed feed (oats hay: concentrate mixture, 60: 40) as substrate in completely randomized design with control (without LGO) and added with LGO @ 10, 20, 40 and 80 μL of LGO/40 mL of buffered rumen fluid. Incubations were carried out in 125 mL serum bottle under anaerobic conditions at 39°C for 24 h. Methane concentration (%) in the head space gas reduced (P<0.01) linearly with the increasing concentration of LGO irrespective of substrate. However, truly degradable dry matter (TDDM%) reduced (P<0.01) with LGO supplementation except in LGO-10 (10 μL dose). Although, both the substrates behaved comparatively in methane inhibition but inhibitory effect on TDDM was more pronounced with oats hay substrate than the mixed feed. Supplementation of LGO reduced (P<0.05) ammonia-N production for both the feeds but higher reduction was evident with mixed feed substrate. However, at low level (LGO-10), no effect was observed. There was reduction in acetate production by addition of LGO except for LGO-10 for both the substrates. There was reduction (P<0.05) in A: P ratio with addition of lemon grass oils irrespective of doses and diets. It might be concluded that lemongrass essential oils have a great potential to modulate rumen fermentation towards reducing methanogenesis and ammonia nitrogen production irrespective of dietary substance. A dose of 10 μL/40mL buffered rumen fluid (LGO-10) could be used to modify rumen fermentation to lower ruminal methane production without impeding feed fermentation, however, in vivo studies are required for confirmation of these results.

Anesthetics play a crucial role in aquaculture by ensuring the welfare and health of fish, facilitating various procedures, and preventing physical injuries during handling. Recently, plant- based anesthetics for fish are becoming a sustainable alternative to synthetic anesthetics in aquaculture and fisheries research. The present study examined the use of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oils as anesthetics for Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus(i-Excel strain) fry. Fish (average body weight = 0.004 g) were immersed in varying concentrations of 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 μL L-1 and 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 μL L-1 for lavender and lemongrass essential oils, respectively. The induction and recovery times were recorded and the best dose was determined based on rapid induction (&lt;3-4 minutes) and quick recovery (&lt;10 minutes). The results indicated that both essential oils exhibit dose-dependent effects on sedation and recovery. Lavender essential oil achieved optimal anesthesia at 60 μL L-1 , with an induction time of 229.3±10.7 seconds and a recovery time of 310.9±16.9 seconds, while lemongrass essential oil induced optimal anesthesia at 30 μL L-1 , with an induction time of 232.5±11.7 seconds and a recovery time of 130.5±8.6 seconds. Both concentrations for both essential oils resulted in 100.0% survival, while higher doses induced faster anesthesia and recovery but decreased survival rates. These essential oils offer cost-effective alternatives to synthetic anesthetics for short-term handling procedures; however, further research on histopathological effects and optimal transport dosages is needed.

Evaluate the effect of Aroeira (Schinus terebinthifolius) leaf essential oils on rumen fermentation parameters, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance in lambs. Treatments were a negative control (CTL - no additives), a positive control (MON - addition of 25 mg of monensin kg-1 of dry matter), doses of 1.25, 2.5, and 3.75 mL of essential oil kg-1 of diet as feed. Thirty crossbred Dorper x Santa Ines lambs with rumen cannulas and weighing 53.08 ± 11.04 kg were assigned to randomized blocks with five replicates per treatment. Across the entire observation period 0, 7, 14, and 21 days the feed additives proved effective in reducing butyrate and increasing ammonia. Linear increase in essential oils on isovalerate. Essential oils exhibited a quadratic effect on acetate, butyrate, C2/C3, and methane (p &lt; 0.05), lower values in treatments at 1.25 and 2.5 mL kg-1. Treatments did not impact with nutrient intake and digestibility. The additives affected the reduction of nitrogen (N) intake and N retained (p &lt; 0.05), Essential oils displayed an effect compared to monensin when decreasing N intake and N retained, with a linear decrease due to the essential oils level when decreasing N intake (p &lt; 0.05). Doses of 1.25, 2.50 mL kg-1 reduced methane production and positively influenced the VFAs.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of lemongrass essential oil (LEO) addition during the ensiling and subsequent sheep feed intake, particle selection, in vitro rumen fermentation, total-tract apparent digestibility and nitrogen balance. Eight Dorper lambs 19.4±2.40 (mean±SD) kg of body weight were used in a trial using a 4 × 4 Latin Square design to evaluate: I. LEO addition during the whole-plant sorghum ensiling: 0 (EN−) and 4 (EN+) mL per kg of sorghum dry matter (DM); and II. LEO supply during the animals feeding: 0 (F−) and 1.6 (F+) mL per kg of diet DM. Treatments showed no effect on feed intake and particle size selection. Ensiling with LEO increased ammonia-N when LEO was not added during incubation. LEO addition during incubation decreased neutral detergent fibre (NDF) degradation when LEO was not added during the ensiling. In addition, LEO addition increased fermentation gas production and decreased digestibility. LEO addition in sheep feeding tended to decrease crude protein digestibility. Treatments did not affect nitrogen balance and the average daily gain. Thus, LEO supply during ensiling and sheep feeding does not affect feed intake, particle selection and nitrogen balance.