Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. - syn.Andropogon giganteus Hochst.; Cymbopogon caesius var.giganteus - Poaceae \\
giant lemongrass, ahibero, **Großes Zitronengras**, Ahibero, Grosses Lemongras

Perennial, up to 3m tall, native to tropical Africa.

The oil of C. giganteus from Burkina Faso contained mainly limonene (17.3%) and the monoterpene alcohols trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (17.0%), cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (16.5%), trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (13.8%) and cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (9.3%). \\
[Aromatic plants of tropical west africa. XI. Chemical composition, antioxidant and antiradical properties of the essential oils of three Cymbopogon species from Burkina Faso., Menut, C., Bessiere, J.M., Samate, D., Djibo, A.K., Buchbauer, G., Schopper, B., Journal of Essential Oil Research, 12(2), 2000, 207-212]

Major constituents of the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. growing wild in Ivory Coast were trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (18.4%), cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (16.0%), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (15.7%), limonene (12.5%), cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-2-ol (8.7%), trans-isopiperitenol (3.1%), cis-isopiperitenol (2.2%), carvone (2.7%), trans-carveol (2.2%), and 3,9-epoxy-mentha-1,8(10)-diene (2.2%). Minor components were e.g. limonene oxides, perilla aldehyde (0.4%), safrole (0.1%), thymol (0.9%), ascaridole (0.2%), and esters like isoamyl hexanoate (0.1%), isoamyl octanoate (0.1%), phenylethyl hexanoate (0.1%), phenylethyl octanoate (tr). \\
[Boti, Jean Brice, et al. "Combined analysis of Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. leaf oil from Ivory Coast by GC/RI, GC/MS and 13C-NMR." Comptes Rendus Chimie 9.1 (2006): 164-168]

"Cymbopogon giganteus plant parts are used in local African medicine for various treatments, such as against rheumatism, fever, cough, skin disorders (decoctions of leaves and flowers) and arterial hypertension... The essential oils of this as well as of other Cymbopogon species (e.g. the more common C. citratus) are important aromatic substances, used for food flavoring and perfumery/cosmetic products, and also show antioxidative and antiradical as well as anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Analyses of the oil composition of C. giganteus samples from Africa, such as Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali, showed p-menthadienols as main constituents." \\
Of the more than 55 components identified (in stems, leaves and flowers), the main compounds were cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (20.5-29.1%), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (21.6-28.1%), trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (16.3%-22.1%) and cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (4.6%-9.7%). Additional components responsible for the characteristic aroma impressions of C.giganteus oil samples were especially limonene, trans-verbenol and carvone. \\
[Composition and antimicrobial activity of Cymbopogon giganteus (Hochst.) Chiov. essential flower, leaf and stem oils from Cameroon., Jirovetz, L., Buchbauer, G., Eller, G., Ngassoum, M.B., Maponmetsem, P.M., Journal of Essential Oil Research, 19(5), 2007, 485-489] [[http://www.holzer-group.at/download.asp?id=392]]

{{:menthadienole.jpg}} p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol and p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol ([[http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/rw1590541.html|isocarveol]])

The essential oil of C.giganteus from Togo contained mainly limonene (23.0%), cis p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (14.3%), trans p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (5.63%), and two isomers of p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (14.1%) and p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (12.6%), and carvone (3.3%). Minor components were e.g. limonene oxides (~2%), α,p-dimethylstyrene (0.1%), cis carveol (0.75%), trans carveol (1.4%), perilla aldehyde (0.3%), and esters like isoamyl hexanoate (0.13%), isoamyl octanoate (0.09%), phenylethyl hexanoate (0.03%), phenylethayl octanoate (0.01%). \\
[Nyamador, Wolali S., et al. "Variation in the susceptibility of two Callosobruchus species to essential oils." Journal of Stored Products Research 46.1 (2010): 48-51] 

"The main constituents of Cymbopogon giganteus were cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (19.4%), trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (16.4%) and limonene (13.7%)...  The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Cymbopogon giganteus  was found to be moderate on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with MIC equal to 0.32 ± 0.02 mg/mL and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 with MIC equal to 0.64 ± 0.34 mg/mL. This same oil induced the death of 57.84% of ticks at 8μL." \\
[Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from the leaves of Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. and Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng (Poaceae) from Benin., Alitonou, G.A., Avlessi, F., Tchobo, F., Noudogbessi, J.P., Tonouhewa, A., Yehouenou, B., Sohounhloue, D.K., International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 6(4), 2012, 1819-1827] [[http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijbcs/article/viewFile/84041/74046]]

"This EO, also called “Ahibero EO” or “Citronelle de Madagascar” is widely commercialized, most often in  external use, for its antiseptic and antifungal properties... EO  extracted  from  air-dried leaves of a Beninese sample of C.giganteus was obtained with 0.57% yield... Sixteen components were detected with cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (17.03%), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (15.52%), trans-p-mentha 2,8 dien-1-ol (13.79%), limonene (12.07%), cis-carveol (9.12%), and cis-p-mentha 2,8 dien-1-ol (8.53%) as  major  constituents." \\
[Toukourou, Habib, et al. "Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. essential oil: Direct effects or activity in combination with antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria." Journal of Applied Biology & Biotechnology Vol 8.01 (2020): 84-89] [[https://www.jabonline.in/admin/php/uploads/433_pdf.pdf]]

Main components of a commercial essential oil were limonene (~8.8%), p-cymene (~0.5%), α,p-dimethylstyrene (~0.5%), 3,9-epoxy-p-mentha-1,8(10)diene (~2.2%), dill ether (0.12%), trans dihydrocarvone (0.2%), trans p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (~15.7%), cis p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (~8.3%), verbenone (~0.5%), carvone (~3.4%), cis isopiperitenol (~2.5%), trans isopiperitenol (~3.5%), trans p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (~19.3%), trans carveol (~3.2%), cis p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (~15.1%), phenylethyl hexanoate (1%), limonene glycol (~1.3%), and phenylethyl octanoate (0.2%). \\
[GC-MS of 'Ahibero (Tsaure)' EO Essence Pur; Andreas Kraska 20210816]   


{{https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Cymbopogon_giganteus_MS4968.JPG/1365px-Cymbopogon_giganteus_MS4968.JPG?600}} \\
Cymbopogon giganteus in Bantia Botanical Garden near Fada N'Gourma, Burkina Faso (2013) \\
[[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/|CC BY-SA 3.0]] Author: Marco Schmidt   [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cymbopogon_giganteus_MS4968.JPG|Wikimedia Commons]]