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 Products
Citrus aurantium
trade name |
part used |
ingredient |
specification |
tests methd |
bitter orange |
fruit |
synephrine |
10% |
HPLC |
Bitter Orange Extract
Bitter Orange, also known as Bigarade Orange or Neroli, has served many ancient cultures for its medicine effects in treating a large variety of health disorders. Today bitter orange teas, tinctures, and extracts are still used in connection with gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, head aches, and obesity.
Bitter Orange for Better Health
Bitter orange has a complex chemical makeup. Of particular value is the oil that is extracted from the peel of bitter orange. This oil gives bitter orange a strong odor and flavor and is used as a remedy for a variety of health problems. The peel contains flavones, the alkaloids synephrine, octopamine, and N-methyltyramine, and carotenoids.
Only the peel of bitter orange has proven medicinal value, mainly for digestive problems and a few other health concerns. However, in folk medicine the flower of bitter orange is also used. Folk medicine uses the flower not only to treat gastrointestinal disorders, but to treat a myriad of health problems ranging from nervousness and insomnia, to gout and sore throat, and even for obesity. In oriental medicine, the flower of the bitter orange is used for poor appetite, chest and stomach pain, and vomiting. Homeopathic practitioners use both the peel and the flower to remedy both headaches and pain.
Today bitter orange continues to be employed in a wide variety of traditions. In Latin America, the leaf of the bitter orange plant is prepared as a tonic and used as a laxative, a sedative for insomnia, and to calm anxiety. The peel of the fruit is used to treat stomach aches and high blood pressure. Some cultures use bitter orange peel as an anti-spasmodic. In traditional oriental medicine, the bitter orange peal is used for indigestion, abdominal pain, constipation, and dysenteric diarrhea. Bitter orange is still used throughout the world as a remedy for insomnia and indigestion.
Bitter Orange for Weight Loss
Bitter orange contains several chemical compounds believed to stimulate metabolic rate, which may increase calorie burning in the body. While no clinical trails have substantiated the effectiveness of bitter orange as weight loss supplement, it appears to be effective in combination with St. John's wort and caffeine.
Dosage and Administration
Many health professionals recommend 1 to 2 grams of dried bitter orange peel simmered for 10 to 15 minutes in a cup of water. Three cups are usually recommended as a daily dosage. As a tincture, 2 to 3 ml is usually recommended, also to be taken three times a day. Supplementing with pure bitter orange oil is usually avoided.
Citrus aurantium - L. Bitter Orange
Physical Characteristics
An evergreen Tree growing to 9m by 6m.
It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Apomictic (reproduce by seeds formed without sexual fusion), insects. The plant is self-fertile.
The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.
Habitats
Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Hedge; South Wall By; West Wall By;
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Fruit.
Edible Uses: Condiment; Oil.
Fruit - raw or cooked. Very bitter. It is used in making marmalade and other preserves. The fruit is about 5 - 7cm in diameter. The rind of the fruit is often used as a flavouring in cakes etc. Used in 'bouquet garni'. An oil obtained from the seeds contains linolenic acid and is becoming more widely used as a food because of its ability to reduce levels of cholesterol in the blood. The flowers are used for scenting tea. An essential oil from the dried peel of immature fruits is used as a food flavouring.
Other Uses
Essential; Hedge; Oil; Repellent; Rootstock.
This species is much used as a rootstock for the sweet orange, C. sinensis, because of its disease resistance and greater hardiness. Grown as a hedging plant in N. America. A semi-drying oil obtained from the seed is used in soap making. Essential oils obtained from the peel, petals and leaves are used as a food flavouring and also in perfumery and medicines. The oil from the flowers is called 'Neroli oil' - yields are very low from this species and so it is often adulterated with inferior oils. The oil from the leaves and young shoots is called 'petit-grain' - 400 kilos of plant material yield about 1 kilo of oil. This is also often adulterated with inferior products. Neroli oil, mixed with vaseline, is used in India as a preventative against leeches.
Scented Plants
Flowers: Fresh
The flowers are sweetly scented.
Leaves:
Cultivation details
Prefers a moderately heavy loam with a generous amount of compost and sand added and a very sunny position. Prefers a pH between 5 and 6. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.8 to 8.3. Plants are intolerant of water logging. When growing plants in pots, a compost comprising equal quantities of loam and leafmould plus a little charcoal should produce good results. Do not use manure since Citrus species dislike it. When watering pot plants it is important to neither overwater or underwater since the plant will soon complain by turning yellow and dying. Water only when the compost is almost dry, but do not allow it to become completely dry. Dormant plants can withstand temperatures down to about -6℃ so long as this is preceded by cool weather in order to harden off the plant. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. A tree grown outdoors on the coast at Salcombe in Devon lived for over 200 years. The bitter orange is often grown for its edible fruit in warm temperate and tropical zones, there are many named varieties. In Britain it can be grown in a pot that is placed outdoors in the summer and brought into a greenhouse during the winter. Plants dislike root disturbance and so should be placed into their permanent positions when young. If growing them in pots, great care must be exercised when potting them on into larger containers.
Propagation
The seed is best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it ripe after thoroughly rinsing it. Sow stored seed in March in a greenhouse. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 13℃. Seedlings are liable to damp off so they must be watered with care and kept well ventilated. The seed is usually polyembrionic, two or more seedlings arise from each seed and they are genetically identical to the parent but they do not usually carry any virus that might be present in the parent plant. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least three growing seasons before trying them outdoors. Plant them out in the summer and give them some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Layering in October.
Cultivars
'Nanshdaidai'
The medium large fruit is very seedy. The rind is medium-thick but easily peeled and lemon-yellow in colour. The flesh is dull yellow, juicy with an acid flavour but a bitter aftertaste. A vigorous, very thorny, upright-spreading tree, it is relatively cold-hardy[.
Product name: Citrus aurantium extract (bitter orange extract ;sweet orange extract) .
Ingredient : Synephrine 10%-60% ; Flavones 5%-10%
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