SEVILLE ORANGES OR BITTER ORANGES - FACTS: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF BITTER ORANGES SEVILLE ORANGES, BITTER ORANGES, CITRUS AURANTIUM If you’ve ever been to the Spanish city of Seville or Athens, Greece, then you will have seen these bitter oranges trees lining the streets. Unfortunately although they look edible, you have a nasty shock if you eat them, They are mainly used for making marmalade and the peel is used for its oil, as are the flowers, which is valuable to the food and perfume industry. Bitter oranges have become popular as a herbal remedy since 2004 In traditional Chinese medicine the small, dried, immature fruit are used for ailments which include indigestion, diarrhea, dysentery, constipation and as an expectorant. In Africa the cut fruit is applied to sores and ulcers on the skin and research seems to have shown that the fruit and leaves have antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, although more research needs to be done. In folk medicines the leaves have been used for centuries as antispasmodics, for stomach problems and as a general tonic. The flowers are often boiled to a syrup and used as a sedative to promote sleep in people suffering from nervous disorders. An infusion of the flowers, an ounce of flowers to a pint of boiling water left to steep for some hours, is said to be a mild stimulant. The oil from the peel has been used in cases of chronic bronchitis, and the dried powdered peel is considered a general tonic. The leaves have a high vitamin C content in the form of ascorbic acid, and the fruit is full of this too. The fruit also contains flavonoid-glycosides such as aldehytes, ketone-free acids, esters, coumarins and tetranotriterpenoids (limonin). Synephrine is the main chemical constituent in the fruit flavones naringin and neohesperidin. The fruit contains vitamin A and some B-complex vitamins, with the minerals calcium, iron and phosphorous; amino acids are also present.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:13:49 +0000
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