Herb & supplement monograph

Lemongrass Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Lemongrass interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Lemongrass is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Lemongrass is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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Lemongrass Drug Interactions: The Bottom Line

From the HelloPharmacist Editorial Team · Updated July 2026

Based on the available evidence, the overall risk of a clinically significant Lemongrass drug interaction appears low for most people. None of the listed interactions are rated major, and every one rests on animal or lab research rather than human studies.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The pairing most worth watching is pentobarbital, since animal research suggests lemongrass oil may deepen and prolong its sedative effect. Lemongrass may also slow an enzyme the body uses to clear many common medications, which could theoretically raise the levels of those drugs, and it may speed up a separate clearance pathway, potentially lowering the levels of glucuronidated drugs. These effects would matter most with narrow-margin medicines, but so far none has been confirmed in people.

What the rest of the list means

The long list of medications flagged here reflects those two shared processing pathways, not hundreds of proven problems. Because lemongrass may influence how the body handles whole groups of drugs, every medicine in those groups gets counted. All of these predictions come from animal and lab studies, and no human research has yet shown a meaningful change.

Check your medications against Lemongrass

Based on HelloPharmacist’s Lemongrass interaction data and reviewed under our editorial standards.

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Lemongrass

710 medications have a known interaction with Lemongrass, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Lemongrass using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Lemongrass interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Lemongrass combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Lemongrass affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Lemongrass is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 3 drug categories Lemongrass interacts with

Cytochrome P450 3a4 (cyp3a4) SubstratesGlucuronidated DrugsPentobarbital (nembutal)

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (Cyp3A4) Substrates

Theoretically, lemongrass might decrease the metabolism of CYP3A4 substrates.
Animal research shows that lemongrass and its constituent citral inhibit CYP3A4.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Glucuronidated Drugs

Theoretically, lemongrass might increase the clearance and decrease the levels of glucuronidated drugs.
Animal research shows that lemongrass and its constituent citral induce uridine diphosphoglucuronosyl transferase (UGT), the major phase 2 enzyme that is responsible for glucuronidation.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Pentobarbital (Nembutal)

Theoretically, lemongrass might increase the effects and adverse effects of pentobarbital.
Animal research shows that high doses of lemongrass essential oil increases sleep time and decreases time to fall asleep in animals administered pentobarbital.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Lemongrass: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Lemongrass is a fragrant tropical grass widely used as a cooking herb, a tea, and an aromatherapy oil. It is generally considered safe in the small amounts used in food, but most of its claimed health benefits come from laboratory or animal studies rather than strong human research. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements or the essential oil, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Scientific name: Cymbopogon citratus
Family: Poaceae
Part used: Leaves, stalks, and essential oil
Common forms: Tea, fresh or dried herb, capsules, essential oil, topical preparations

People commonly use it for

Digestive upset
Anxiety and stress
Antimicrobial/antifungal
Insect repellent
Flavoring in food and drinks

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Likely safe in food amounts, but concentrated extracts and the essential oil have less safety data.

PregnancyLikely Unsafe

When used orally. Lemongrass seems to have uterine and menstrual flow stimulating effects; avoid using.

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Jump to a section

Overview

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a tall, grassy plant with thin, narrow leaves and a strong lemony scent. It is native to warm regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia and is now grown in many tropical and subtropical areas around the world.

People use lemongrass in several ways. The fresh stalks and leaves are a popular flavoring in many Asian dishes and soups. The dried leaves are brewed into a fragrant tea. The plant is also steam-distilled to make an essential oil that is used in aromatherapy, soaps, and natural insect repellents.

Beyond cooking, lemongrass has a long history in traditional medicine, where it has been used for digestive complaints, fever, and to promote relaxation.

How it works

Lemongrass contains aromatic compounds such as citral (a mix of geranial and neral), along with geraniol, citronellal, and various antioxidants. Citral is largely responsible for the plant's lemony smell.

In laboratory studies, these compounds appear to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity. Researchers think they may neutralize unstable molecules called free radicals and interfere with the growth of certain microbes.

It is important to remember that most of these effects have been seen in test tubes or animals. Results in a lab do not always carry over to the human body, and the amounts used in studies are often much higher than what someone would get from tea or food.

Effectiveness

Does Lemongrass work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 16 uses evaluated

16 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

For Lemongrass, current evidence isn’t strong enough to rate any specific use. The conditions it has been studied for are listed below.

Also studied for 16 conditions — evidence insufficient to rate

Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Abdominal pain