香茅草在多国范围内应用广泛且历史悠久，传统多将其用于烹饪以调味，制成香茅草茶以及作药用等。除保留传统应用外，香茅草在现代的应用多集中于开发香茅草油，其可被用于制备食品添加剂、杀菌剂、化妆品、药品等。香茅草在园林绿化等方面，具有较好的应用前景。香茅草具有特殊的柠檬香味，主要含柠檬醛、月桂烯、芳樟醇、香叶醇、橙花醇、香茅醇等化学成分；其药理作用主要为抗菌、抗炎、镇痛、抗氧化、抗肿瘤、抗焦虑、降压、降血糖等，且随着研究的不断深入，香茅草的一些新的药理作用正逐渐被发现。香茅草在应用形式及保健作用方面，符合现代社会需求及大健康产业的发展趋势，可加大推广力度。

C. citratus has been usedin many countries with a long history. Traditionally, it is applied as a food seasoning in cooking. It is also used in tea beverage and folk medicine as well. Modern application of C. citratus is focused on the development of citronella oil, which can be used for food additives, disinfectants, cosmetics, drugs and etc. C. citratus is also a potential plant in landscaping. Its special lemony flavor contains chemical constituents, mainly including citral, myrcene, linalool, geraniol, nerol, citronellol, and etc. The modern research showed that C. citratus had the main effects of anti- microbial, anti- inflammation, analgesia, anti- oxidation, anti- tumor, anti- anxiety, anti- hypertension, anti- hyperglycemia, and etc. With further studies, some new pharmacological properties of C. citrates are going to be discovered gradually. It is worthy of further research and development to meet the needs of the health industry.

中国医学科学院医学与健康科技创新工程经费资助项目（2016-I2M-2-003）：医科院重大协调创新项目 — —药用植物资源库，负责人：魏建和。