What is it?
An essential oil steam-distilled from lemongrass, tall tropical grasses in the genus Cymbopogon. The label name Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil is used for East Indian lemongrass (C. flexuosus), and a related oil comes from West Indian lemongrass (C. citratus). Most of the oil is citral, which gives it a strong lemon scent. It is used to scent cosmetics and personal care products and to flavor foods.
Key information
- Citral, one of the more common fragrance allergens, makes up most of lemongrass oil, up to about 85 percent.
- The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety classifies lemongrass oil as an established contact allergen in humans.
- New products placed on the EU market since August 2026 must list it as Lemongrass Oil above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.
- Lemongrass oil is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA as a food flavoring.
More information
Lemongrass oil is distilled from the leafy aerial parts of the grass. Its main component, citral, is a mixture of two forms, neral and geranial; East Indian oil contains roughly 25 to 35 percent neral and 35 to 47 percent geranial. Smaller amounts of geraniol, limonene and geranyl acetate round out the scent. The EU groups the oils of C. citratus, C. schoenanthus and C. flexuosus under a single label name, Lemongrass Oil, which is why that phrase now appears on ingredient lists.
In its 2012 opinion on fragrance allergens, the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) classified lemongrass oil as an established contact allergen. In one study of 1,606 consecutive patients patch tested for skin allergy, 1.6 percent reacted to it; a later study found 0.6 percent of 2,435 patients reacting. Citral itself is among the more frequent fragrance allergens, and the SCCS notes it can also irritate skin. Following that opinion, the EU now requires lemongrass oil to be named on labels of products placed on the market from August 2026, alongside citral, which was already on the list.
The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) restricts citral because of skin sensitization and systemic toxicity, for example to 0.15 percent of a body lotion and 0.60 percent of a fine fragrance. Because citral makes up most of lemongrass oil, those limits also cap how much of the oil a product can contain. If you react to lemon-scented products, look for Lemongrass Oil, Cymbopogon and citral on labels. See also our Lemongrass Extract profile.
Sources: SCCS: Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products (2012); Official Journal of the EU: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 on labelling of fragrance allergens; IFRA: Standard for citral (Amendment 49); Cornell LII: 21 CFR 182.20, Essential oils, oleoresins (solvent-free), and natural extractives
