Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora, synonym Lippia citriodora) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. It is a perennial shrub or subshrub growing to 2-3 metres high. Its glossy, pointed leaves emit a strong lemon scent when bruised. It is now cultivated around the globe, particularly in North Africa and southern Europe.

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Chemistry

Citral makes up 30-35% of lemon verbena oil, with nerol and geraniol as the other major isolates. The oil generally contains the citral isomers geranial and neral as its main compounds. In oils obtained by hydrodistillation, geranial (18.7-21.1%) and neral (15.3-16.2%) are the major compounds, followed by spathulenol (7.2-8.7%), caryophyllene oxide (5.3-5.6%), limonene (5.0-5.4%) and ar-curcumene (4.7-5.3%). Oxygenated monoterpenes predominate in the oil extracted from the leaves (49.7-53%).

Three chemotypes have been described in accessions grown in Argentina; the most frequent has a typical lemony aroma due to citral isomers and limonene. Citral has the molecular formula C₁₀H₁₆O and a molecular weight of 152.23. Extracts of lemon verbena also contain verbascoside, an antimicrobial.

Uses

The leaves are used to give a lemon flavor to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt and beverages. The leaves are also used in potpourri. Lemon verbena is used to make herbal teas and as a liqueur flavoring. Lemon verbena oil is generally recognized as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration when used as a flavoring.

Lemon verbena is used in traditional medicine in Latin American countries. Traditionally the plant has been used as a folk remedy for stomach disorders, the management of insomnia and anxiety, bronchitis and heart problems.