Lemongrass oil has a strong lemon-like odour due to high citral content (75-90%). The minimum commercial requirement is 70% citral content. The major quality checking measures are its citral content and its solubility in alcohol. This is an essential ingredient in toiletry products such as toilet soaps, bath salts, etc.It is also employed in artificial lemon flavouring and in the manufacture of ionenes. Ionenes are very important for the production of artificial flavour, perfumes, and soaps and as raw material for vitamin A manufacturing. Here in this article, we intend to explore how to start a small-scale lemongrass oil manufacturing business. The oil is of a reddish-yellow to reddish-brown colour, with a strong, lemon odour. It is also used in pharmaceutical preparations, such as pain balm, disinfectants, and mosquito repellent cream. Lemon grass, popularly known as citronella grass is a member of the Poaceae family and belongs to the genus Cymbopogon. The genus Cymbopogon constitutes of approximately 140 species that show widespread growth across the semi-temperate and tropical regions of Asian, American and African continents. Australia and Europe are home to only a few species of lemon grass. Also known as ‘Squinant’ in English, lemon grass is known by various other colloquial names throughout the world. The members of the Cymbopogon genus produce volatile oils and thus are also known as aromatic grasses.1,2A strong lemon fragrance, a predominant feature of this grass, is due to the high citral content of its oil. The redolence of the oil enables its use in soaps, detergents, etc. As a good source of citral, it finds an application in the perfumery as well as food industries. It is also the starting material for the manufacture of ionone’s, which produce Vitamin A.3Lemon grass contains several bioactive compounds that impart medicinal value to it. Considerable evidence is available for its ethnopharmacological applications.4 According to the WHO, herbal medicine is considered an important part of the healthcare industry by more than two-thirds of the population in developing countries. A part from an overall description of lemon grass, this review article also highlights its medicinal properties that make it a potent herb for Pharmacognstic applications. Cymbopogon spp. are fast-growing C4 perennial sedges from the grass family Poaceae and are primarily cultivated for their essential oils. The genus lemongrass comprises about 180 species, such as Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterianus, Cymbopogon martinii, Cymbopogon nardus, and Cymbopogon refractus. These aromatic grasses are of great commercial interest due to their wide applications in different areas such as the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The plant propagates through seed and slips and has thin and lanceolate leaves that appear to emerge directly from the soil without any stem Although lemongrass cultivation is cosmopolitan, India has a monopoly over its production and export. Bioactive Compounds Present in Lemon Grass and its OilA vast array of ethnopharmacological applications of lemon grass exist today. Its health restorative capacity may be ascribed to the diverse secondary metabolites it produces. Analysis of the grass showed the presence offats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, minerals and several other bioactive compounds (Table 1-3). These can be grouped under different classes like alkaloids, terpenoids, flavanoids, phenols, saponins and tannins. Reports have also confirmed the presence of anthraquinones, steroids, phlobotannins, and cardiac glycosides in lemon grass.

       
           
       
   Cymbopogon citratus

Scientific classification-:

Kingdom: plantae

Clade: Tracheophytes

Clade: Monocots

Clade: Commelinids

Order: Poalrs

Family: Poaceae

Subfamily; panicoideae

Subertribe: Andropogonodae

Tribe: Andropogonodae

Subtribe: Andropogoninae

Genus: Cymbopogon

Types Species:

Cymbopogon Schoenanthus

Nanosponges:                                                                                                                                     

While designing a drug delivery system, researchers mainly focus on delivering the accurate amount of drug at the target site. In this way, many approaches are utilized by using modern nanotechnology, which proved best in its manner.1 Nanotechnology is a branch of science that employs nanomaterials at the nanoscale for creating nanoengineered products with advanced features and improved characteristics in the size range of 1 to 100 nm. One billionth of a meter is a nanometer. Nanomaterials are physical compounds with at least one fraction in the range of 1 to 100 nm. 2. These NPs are observed in a number of diverse shapes, including polymeric nanoparticles, hard-phospholipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, dendrimers, nanosponges, liposomes, carbon nanotubes, micellar systems, etc.3 In this regard, the use of nanotechnology in the medical field is transitioning from passive structures’ to ‘active structures’ through more precise pharmacological drug therapies or “smart drugs” that are made by coupling certain ligands to nanocarriers or aptamers. A wide variety of drug substances like antifungal, antiviral, anti-cancer, volatile oils, gases, proteins and peptides can be ensnared in colloidal nanoparticulate structures known as nanosponges.

NS are 3D spongy structures, around the size of a virus containing nanometric cavities or voids. Simply they are encapsulating drug delivery systems.4,5 These sponges move all around the body until they identify the exact target, attach to the surface, and release the drug gradually. They are five times more efficient than conventional techniques at delivering drugs for breast cancer and are non-irritating, non-mutagenic, non-allergic, and non-toxic.6 NS are solid by nature, capable of ensnaring both hydrophilic and lipophilic substances. Due to this property, they are suitable for enhancing the solubility, permeability as well as bioavailability of compromised drugs like camptothecin, paclitaxel, dexamethasone, etc. It also helps less or poor water-soluble molecules become more soluble by encapsulating them in polar cavities. They are porous, insoluble in water and other organic solvents, innocuous and stable up to 300?.

The development of nanosponges involves the use of many polymers and cross-linkers which result in the delivery of entrapped drugs in a controlled predictable way at the target site.7 In this way, NS is the leading frontier in drug delivery which reduces the dose and dose-related toxicities. It can be administered through oral, parenteral, and topical routes. Oral administration of NS can be done in the form of capsules, tablets, or solid dispersions by using suitable excipients and diluents that deliver the drug efficiently at the target site.8 For the parenteral route different aqueous solutions like sterile water, and saline is used for NS dispersion while in topical delivery hydrogel is best suited. This ultimately results in improved safety, effectiveness, patient compliance, an extended drug shelf life, and ultimately lower healthcare expenditures. Nanotechnology has the potential to be the most significant engineering breakthrough since the industrial revolution. Nanotechnology has so far produced nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanospheres, nano suspensions, nanocrystals, and nano-erythosomes, among other formulations. Nanotechnology is described as the synthesis and manipulation of materials at the nanoscale level in order to produce products with unique features. Nanomaterials have received a lot of interest in recent years. Richard P. Feynman, a physicist at Cal Tech, predicted nanomaterials in 1959. "There is lots of room at the bottom," he remarked, suggesting that scaling down to the nanoscale and beginning from the bottom was the key are materials with a minimum of one dimension within the vary of 1-100 nanometers.1 There are many different types of nanoparticles, including polymeric nanoparticles, solid-lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, nanosponges, carbon nanotubes, micellar systems, and dendrimers, among others. The compound can simply be transported for parenteral distribution in sterile water, saline, or other aqueous solutions. They can successfully be incorporated into topical hydrogel for topical administration. Nanosponges are a novel class of materials made up of small particles having a few nanometer-wide holes that may encapsulate a wide range of compounds. These particles are capable of transporting both lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules, as well as enhancing the solubility of molecules that are weakly water soluble. These microscopic sponges can move through the body until they reach the intended target region, where they adhere to the surface and start to release the medicine in a steady and controlled manner. For a given dosage, the drug will be more effective since it can be released at the precise target place rather than circulating throughout the body. These nanosponges also have an important property called aqueous solubility, which makes it possible to use these systems successfully for medications with limited solubility.

Advantages of Nanosponges:

• Nanosponges allows components to be entrapped and thus reduces adverse effects.
• Remains stable at pH levels ranging from 1 to 11.
• They can withstand temperatures of up to 1300°C.
• They act like self-sterilizer, because of their tiny pore size (0.25m) which does not allow bacteria to penetrate.
• They are of low-cost and free-flowing.
• They improve the solubility of drugs that aren't easily soluble.
• They increase the bioavailability of drug.
• They have improved formulation flexibility, improved stability, and increased elegance.
• Increase aqueous solubility of the poorly water-soluble drug.
• Nanosponges can release the drug molecules in a predictable fashion.                           Because of their tiny pore size (0.25 ?m), bacteria cannot penetrate the nanosponges and they act like a self-sterilizer.
• Nanosponges drug delivery system are non-irritating, non- mutagenic and non-toxic.
• Nanosponges help to remove the toxic and venom substance from the body.
• Nanosponges drug delivery system minimize side effect.
• Increase formulation stability and enhance the flexibility of the formulation.
• Reduce dosing frequency.
• Better patient compliance.
• Nanosponges complexes are stable over wide range of pH (i.e. 1- 11) and a temperature of 130 °C [4-6].  

Characteristics of Nanosponges-

There are several characteristics of nanosponges which make it different from other nanoparticles. Such characteristics are being discussed below:

• Nanosponges are insoluble in organic solvents & water porous, nontoxic, and thermostable up to 3000C, unlike other nanoparticles.
• Their size distribution is limited, with a mean diameter of less than 1 m.
• Carbonate nanosponges have a zeta potential of about 25 mV, which results with stable water suspensions that do not aggregate over time due to a higher zeta
• potential.
• Nanosponges protect the medication from physiological breakdown and are non-irritating, non- mutagenic, non-allergic, and non-toxic.
• By generating inclusion and non-inclusion complexes nanosponges can encapsulate a variety of pharmacological compounds.
• Nanosponges are porous particles that are primarily utilized to encapsulate medications that are poorly soluble.

 Composition Of Nanosponges -

1. Polymer and copolymers -

The choice of polymer can have an impact on the development and performance of nanosponges. The cavity  size must be appropriate for incorporating the specific medication molecule. The polymer chosen is determined by the needed release and the medicine to be encapsulated. The chosen polymer should have the ability to bind to specified ligands. Eg. Cyclodextrins and their derivatives such as Methyl- cyclodextrin (-CD), alkyloxy carbonyl cyclodextrins, 2- hydroxy propyl-CDs, and copolymers such as poly (Valero lactoneallylvalero lactone) and poly (Valero lactone-allyl Valero lactone oxepanedione), Hyper cross-linked polystyrenes, ethyl cellulose and PVA are among the polymers used to make nanosponges.

2. Cross linking agents -

The cross-linking agent can be selected based on the structure of the polymer and the medicine that will be synthesized. Depending on the type of cross linkers used, water soluble or insoluble nanosponge structures are created. Examples: Diphenyl Carbonate, Diarylcarbonates, Di- Isocyanates, Pyromellitic anhydride, Carbonyl-di- Imidazoles, Epichloridrine, Glutaraldehyde, Carboxylic acid dianhydrides, 2,2-bis(acrylamido) Acetic acid and Dichloromethane.                                                   

Factors Formulation Of Nanosponges -Affecting

1. Type of Drug
2. Type of Polymer used
3. Temperature
4. Method of preparation nanosponge
5. Degree of substitution

1.Type of Drug

The therapeutic molecules that will be used in incision and non-incision nanosponge complexes should have the following characteristics:

1. The drug molecule's structure should not include more than five condensed rings.
2. The drug's melting point should be less than 250°C.
3. In water, drug solubility should be less than 10 mg/ml.
4. The molecular weight of drug should be between 100 and 400 gm/mole.

2. Type of Polymers Used

The type of polymer employed in nanosponge formulation can have an impact on the nanosponge formation and performance. The polymer utilised in the formulation determines the size of the nanosponge cavity and drug complexation.

3. Temperature

The drug/nanosponge complexation can be affected b temperature changes. Reduces the perceived stability's magnitude by a factor of two. The constant increase in temperature of the Drug/Nanosponge complex could be related to the likely lowering of drug/Nanosponge contact forces as temperature rises.

4. Method of Preparation Nanosponges

The loading of a drug into a nanosponge has the potential to change the nanosponge/drug complexation. In any instance, the success of a method is determined by the nature of the drug and polymer. Freeze drying has proven to be the most effective way for drug complexation in many cases.

5. Degree of Substitution

The type, amount, and placement of the substituent on the parent molecule can all affect the ability of nanosponge to complex.

Method Prepration  Of  Nanosponges -

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