Citronella Oil

Generic name: Andropogon Nardus L., Cymbopogon Nardus L. Rendle, Cymbopogon Winterianus Jowitt
Brand names: Ceylon Oil, Citronella, Citronella Oil

Usage of Citronella Oil

Insect repellant

Fractional distillation of Ceylon citronella yielded 13 fractions that were tested against mosquito larvae. Monoterpene fractions containing mycrene were very lethal to late third instar Culex quinquefasciatus larvae.Pattnaik 1996 Elemol and methyl iso-eugenol were responsible for larvicidal activity in other fractions.Pattnaik 1996

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on 11 controlled laboratory experimental studies in humans that investigated the effectiveness of citronella preparations in preventing bites from Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex mosquitoes, which transmit dengue fever, malaria, and encephalitis, respectively. The difference in mean protection time against bites and percentage of repellency compared to control were the measured outcomes. Studies were included if either the cage or room method was used. At least 4 different definitions of "protection time" were used among the studies in the systematic review. Citronella products varied in dosage form (ie, cream, lotion, solution, spray, wristband), preparation method, citronella oil concentration (1.25% to 30%), and amount of citronella oil used. Most of the cage-method studies used DEET 4% to 25% as a comparator, while the room-method studies compared citronella to DEET 19% to 50%. Overall, citronella 10% to 30% with or without the addition of 5% vanillin provided a shorter mean protection time (19.7 to 390 minutes) against Aedes spp bites compared to DEET 4% to 25% (234.4 to 480 minutes). In contrast, citronella 20% and 25% provided the same mean protection time (480 minutes) as DEET at the same concentration against Anopheles and Culex spp. Additionally, 10% citronella had a longer mean protection time (312 minutes) against Culex spp than 7% DEET (288 minutes) but not 15% DEET (420 minutes). The addition of 5% vanillin to 25% citronella protected subjects longer (480 minutes) than 25% DEET (360 minutes) against bites from Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2 studies investigating efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, citronella at concentrations of 5%, 40%, and 25% plus vanillin 5% provided 100% repellency for at least 3 hours; however, the 25% plus 5% vanillin and 40% citronella oil alone provided continued complete protection for up to 6 hours. By the 6th hour, the repellency of the 5% citronella product dropped to 77.5%.Kongkaew 2011

Mosquito repellency, irritation level, and smell satisfaction of 100% citronella oil were measured during both indoor (N=101) and outdoor (N=140) conditions in a controlled study in Nepal where Culex and Aedes mosquitoes are prevalent. After application of 100% citronella oil, 2-hour repellency was found to be significantly better in the citronella group (3.9% bitten) compared to controls who received no citronella oil (71.1% bitten; P<0.001). Similarly, the mean number of mosquito bites after 2 hours was also significantly lower in the citronella than the control group (0.07 vs 2.4, respectively; P<0.001). Although no appreciable differences were observed for citronella repellency effects between indoor and outdoor groups (32.7% and 37.9% bitten, respectively), a statistically significant difference was observed between indoor and outdoor groups in the mean number of bites (0.9 and 1.3, respectively; P=0.02). Smell satisfaction was reported as 67.7% "good" and 16.5% "very good" with 7 times more "very good" responses occurring within the outdoor group. Additionally, the oil was well tolerated in both indoor and outdoor settings with no irritation reported by more than 85% of participants and only slight irritation noted by the rest.Sajo 2015

Other uses

Citronella oil has been found to have in vitro antibacterial activity against gram-positive organisms.Khan 2009 The essential oil also displays antifungal activity.Temple 1991

Citronella Oil side effects

Citronella oil has been reported to cause contact dermatitis in humans.Khan 2009

Before taking Citronella Oil

Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking. Avoid use.

How to use Citronella Oil

There are no recent published clinical studies of citronella which establish appropriate dosage.

Warnings

Animal toxicity studies have shown that citronella oil has an LD50 in mice of 4,600 mg/kg and in rats of 7,200 mg/kg. A dose of 1 to 4 mL/kg given by stomach tube in rabbits caused paralysis, coma, and death. At least 1 case of death has been reported in a child who ingested an unknown quantity of citronella oil. A review of 5 cases of childhood citronella oil poisoning suggests that dilution of the oil following ingestion may be sufficient to treat most cases of ingestion and that emesis may be induced with a relatively low risk of major pulmonary complications. If spontaneous vomiting has occurred, observation for respiratory symptoms is required.Temple 1991

What other drugs will affect Citronella Oil

None well documented.

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