Lemon verbena, properties and uses in home remedies.

Lemon verbena , lemon verbena ,  Maríaluisa  or Cedrón ,  Aloysia citrodora , a plant native to South America, striking for its pleasant smell and lemon flavor. The fresh or dried leaves and flowers of this herb are used for medicinal purposes. But also lemon verbena is used to flavor and flavor cooking recipes such as desserts and sweets, drinks or sauces.

Among the properties of lemon verbena we can highlight that it has expectorant, antibacterial and hepatoprotective action. But using lemon verbena has other health benefits.

What is lemon verbena good for ? In this article we are going to know the properties of lemon verbena, its active principles, the benefits of Maríaluisa and how to use it in home remedies, how to make a Kidron infusion and the contraindications of lemon verbena.

Active principles of lemon verbena or Cedrón

Among the active components of the lemon verbena or Maríaluisa are:

• Essential oils with linalool, citral, limonene, terpineol and caryophyllene.
• Flavonoids
• Coumarins
• Verbenone

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Lemon verbena, medicinal properties

Maríaluisa or Cedrón is a medicinal plant that can help us maintain health or improve it in different cases, because it has action:

• Antibacterial
• Digestive
• Antioxidant
• Hepatoprotective
• Cough suppressant
• Fungicide
• Anti-inflammatory
• Carminative
• Antihistamine
• Expectorant
• Antitumor
• Relaxing
• Antispasmodic
• Antiasthmatic

Benefits and uses of lemon verbena in home remedies

Lemon verbena for heartburn or heartburn. Many people suffer from heartburn or heartburn and the Maríaluisa infusion can be a natural remedy for these cases. It also has a pleasant flavor and aroma and is easily taken. But there are also more home remedies for heartburn .

Lemongrass for insomnia . This medicinal plant has a mild relaxing effect that can help us relax at the end of the day, eliminate stress and be able to sleep better at night, especially if we have trouble sleeping or have insomnia. It is used in infusion.

Lemon verbena to delay aging . The antioxidant action of Maríaluisa fights the action of free radicals, preventing possible cell damage and delaying aging.

Lemongrass as an expectorant . Another traditional use of the very common lemon verbena is to expel the accumulated mucus in the respiratory tract and to avoid infections of the respiratory system. It is used in flu, colds, bronchitis, etc.

Lemon verbena for digestion . Lemongrass is a plant that improves digestive processes. If you tend to have slow or heavy digestions, lemon verbena can be very useful to improve the digestion of food. Drink an infusion of lemon verbena after your meal to take advantage of its digestive properties.

Lemongrass for cough . If you have an irritated, inflamed, infected or cough throat, gargling with the infusion of Kidron is a very effective natural remedy to improve these conditions. This is due to the anti-inflammatory, relaxing, antitussive and antibacterial action of lemon verbena.

Lemon verbena for the liver . There are medicinal plants that take care of the liver and lemon verbena is a good example. The infusion of lemon verbena helps us to keep our liver healthy and to carry out its functions correctly.

Lemongrass for gases . Maríaluisa is very beneficial to help us expel the gases that accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract. This way we will avoid abdominal swelling and other discomforts derived from the accumulation of gases.

Lemon grass for insect bites . Applying the infusion of lemon verbena with gauze on insect bites or even light animal bites we can clean the area and promote wound healing.

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How to take lemon verbena or lemon verbena

The use of lemon verbena is mainly internal.

The best way to take advantage of the properties of lemon verbena is to prepare an infusion.

You just have to put a teaspoon of dried lemon verbena leaves and flowers in a cup and add 200 ml of very hot water. Cover the mug and let it steep for 5 minutes.

Then it is strained and drunk little by little as the infusion cools.

With this same infusion you can gargle or apply it externally on the skin.

Contraindications of lemon verbena

The use of lemon verbena or lemon verbena is contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation.

Like other medicinal plants, Maríaluisa should not be consumed for more than two weeks in a row.

This is general information, if you want to know how to take lemon verbena in your particular case, you should contact a professional who can give you some guidelines based on your medical history and your needs.