Citrus limetta

Scientific name: Citrus limetta Risso

Botanical family: RUTACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

lima, limón dulce, limasa

Other vernacular names

Limón dulce

Geographical distribution

Native to tropical Asia, cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions.

Botanical description

Tree or shrub, armed with thick thorns. Leaves 5 to 7.5 cm, elliptic-oval, crenate, narrowly winged petiole. White flowers. Pale yellow, smooth fruit, 5 to 7 cm in diameter, flavourless juice.

Voucher(s)

Jiménez,1524,JBSD

conjunctivitis

fruit, juice, instillation¹

The fruit of Citrus limetta is a food of relatively widespread human consumption and an industrial source of essential oil.

For conjunctivitis:
wash and peel the fresh fruit adequately and place 2 or 3 drops of the fresh juice, directly into the affected eye, 3 times a day¹.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for conjunctivitis is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the scientific information published.

All applications in the eyes must follow the strictest hygiene measures, in order to prevent contamination or additional infection and to avoid contact with substances that can irritate to the conjunctiva.

In cases of conjunctivitis, there is a risk of increasing the irritation by application of the fruit juice.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or the conjunctivitis persists for more than 3 days, seek medical attention.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 12 years.

The fruit juice applied to mice in ocular instillation, in the shampoo-induced chemical conjunctivitis model, did not cause eye irritation⁶.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Some flavonoids have been identified from the juice: four C- glycosyl flavones, vicenin-2, lucenin-2 4′-methyl ether, orientin 4′-methyl ether and scoparin; O-glycosyl flavone, rhoifolin; O- glycosyl flavanone, eriocitrin².

The essential oil of sweet lime has a larger quantity of aldehydes such as limonene. Linalool, sabinene and bergamol were more abundant than in other varieties, the main portion being terpene d-limonene with 74.4%, bergamol with 8.23% and β-pinene with 7.62%³.

Proximate analysis of 100 g of the fruit⁴: calories: 30; water:89.9%; protein: 0.7%; fat: 0.6%; carbohydrates: 8.4%; fibre: 1%; ash: 0.4%; calcium: 28 mg; phosphorus: 20 mg; iron: 0.5 mg; carotene: 0 μg; thiamine: 0.05 mg; riboflavin: 0.03 mg; niacin: 0.2 mg; ascorbic acid: 48 mg.

The fruit juice in vitro inhibited cyclooxygenase (IC₅₀ = 0.066mg/ml) and lipoxygenase (IC₅₀ = 0.302 mg/ml) in rat platelets⁵.

The fruit juice applied in ocular instillation, in the shampoo- induced chemical conjunctivitis model, in mice, decreased the duration of irritation to 5 minutes, compared to controls (distilled water = 20 minutes and no treatment = 30 minutes); it was calculated that it inhibits irritation in 83% of the 20 species
of bacteria studied⁶.

The undiluted essential oil is attributed in vitro antimicrobial activity on agar plate against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus; it was not antifungal on Penicillium cyclopium, Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus aegyptiacus⁷.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU L, GERONIMO M, AMPARO C, 1984
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

2 BARRECA D, BELLOCCO E, CARISTI C, LEUZZI U, GATTUSO G, 2011
Flavonoid profile and radical-scavenging activity of Mediterranean sweet lemon (Citrus limetta Risso) juice. Food Chemistry 129(2):417-422.

3 COLECIO MC, RUBIO RE, BOTELLO JE, MARTINEZ GM, NAVARRETE JL,
JIMENEZ H, 2012
Characterization of volatile compounds in the essential oil of sweet lime (Citrus limetta Risso). Chilean J Agric Res 72(2):276-280.

4 DUKE JA, ATCHLEY AA, 1986
Handbook of proximate analysis tables of higher plants. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press, p45.

5 NOGATA Y, YOZA KI, KUSUMOTO KI, KOHYAMA N, SEKIYA K, OHTA H, 1996
Screening for inhibitory activity of Citrus fruit extracts against platelet cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase. J Agr Food Chem 44(3):725-729.

6 RUIZ U, AURA V, 1981
Efectos de algunas substancias y preparaciones vegetales sobre bacterias causales de conjuntivitis (Tesis de graduación). Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala, Guatemala.

7 ROSS SA, EL-KELTAWI NE, MEGALLA SE, 1980
Antimicrobial activity of some Egyptian aromatic plants. Fitoterapia 51:201-205.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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