Citrus sinensis

Scientific name: Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck

Synonym: Citrus aurantium var. sinensis L.

Botanical family: RUTACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Dominican Republic:

naranja dulce (ou china)

Haiti:

zowanj

Other vernacular names

Cuba:

Naranja dulce

Haiti:

Zaranj
Zoranj
Zoranj
Zoranj dous

Geographical distribution

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

Botanical description

Medium sized tree up to 6 m, round crown; branches with thin, flexible thorns, occasionally absent. Widely elliptical leaves 6 to 11 cm long with obtuse or sharp apex, cradle to rounded base. Flowers solitary or in short, white, aromatic racemes. Globose or oval fruit, with 10 to 13 segments, yellowish, sweet pulp.

Voucher(s)

Veloz,3010,JBSD

flu

leaf, decoction or infusion, orally^1-2

fever

peel or leaf, decoction or infusion, orally^1-2

conjunctivitis

fruit, juice, instillation^1-2

diarrhoea

fruit, juice, orally^1-2

flu

fruit, juice, orally^1-2

cough

fruit, juice, orally^1-2

headhache

leaf, decoction or infusion, orally^1-2

The fruit and juice of Citrus sinensis are foods of relatively widespread human consumption and an industrial source of essential oil.

For conjunctivitis:
wash and peel the fresh fruit adequately, squeeze and apply (instill) 2-3 drops of juice directly into the eye, 3 times a day.

For diarrhea, flu or coughs:
drink the natural juice of 1 fruit twice a day.

For headaches, flu or fever:
prepare a decoction or infusion with 5-20 grams of leaves or rind in 4 cups (1 litre) of water. For decoction, boil for 5-10 minutes in a covered vessel. For the infusion, add the boiling water to the 5-20 grams of leaves or rind and cover. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, cool, strain (filter) and drink 2-3 cups a day³¹.

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

According to the information available:

The use for conjunctivitis, headache, flu, fever and coughs is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the toxicity studies.

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 C. sinensis fruit juice.

If deterioration is observed in the patient, the flu persists for more than 7 days, the cough for more than 5 days, the conjunctivitis for more than 3 days, the fever or headache for more than 2 days, seek medical attention.

Use of the juice for diarrhoea, flu and coughs is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the toxicity and validation studies.

The use of this resource in cases of diarrhoea should be considered complementary to oral rehydration therapy.

If deterioration is observed in the patient (dehydration with dry tongue, decreased skin turgor, oliguria, decrease in the amount of urine, crying without tears...), seek immediate medical attention.
If the diarrhoea persists for more than 2 days in adults or one day in children, seek medical attention.

Due to the risk of the documented interaction with itraconazole, the ingestion of C. sinensis fruit juice should be avoided in people taking the drug³.

The essential oil taken orally can produce hypersensitivity reactions.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 5 years.

TRAMIL Work²⁴
The freeze-dried aqueous extract (decoction) from fresh leaves (5 g/kg/day/5 days) was administered orally in mice, Hsd:ICR 19.33 ± 1.99 g (5 males and 5 females) according to EPA.OPPTS 870.3100 protocol, with 15 additional days of observation.

The control was carried out with water (0.4 ml/20 g mouse) with 10 mice of the same characteristics. There was no mortality, nor were there any signs of toxicity (Irwin multidimensional test). The macroscopic autopsy showed no alterations in the organs.

TRAMIL Work²⁵
The juice of the fresh fruit, topically (100 μl) in the conjunctival sac of the right eye of rabbits, the left eye received 100 μl of distilled water as a control, in the ocular irritation model, observed for 72 hours, did not cause any alteration or irritation.

The fruit juice (29.5 ml/day) inhibited carcinogenesis in rats²⁶.

The fresh fruit juice (0.1 ml/plate), in the sodium azide-induced mutagenicity test and 4-nitro-O-phenylenediamine in Salmonella typhimurium TA97 and TA100, was antimutagenic²⁷.

The tincture from the rind of the green fruit (50 g/100 ml of 30% ethanol) in Aspergillus nidulans (D30, FGSC, A593 and A594), showed cytotoxic and genotoxic activity^28-29.

The tincture of green fruit rind (50 g/100 ml of 30% ethanol, 2 g/kg single dose), orally in rats, both sexes, did not produce evident signs of acute toxicity, death or morphological or histological lesions in the organs studied (liver, heart, kidneys, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and lungs).

The subchronic toxicity study (0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg/day/90 days), orally in rats, both sexes, showed: decrease in body weight and food consumption with 1 and 2 g/kg after the first month of treatment and alternating cycles of irritability and depression in the group treated with 2 g/kg. The levels of haemoglobin, haematocrit, differential leukogram, glycaemia, GOT, GPT and alkaline phosphatase did not vary. No morphological or histological alterations were detected in the organs examined (liver, heart, kidney, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, lung, pituitary, testicle and ovary). The same extract (0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg/day) orally in mice in the bone marrow micronucleus test, did not show significant genotoxic activity, although a dose-related tendency for micronucleated PCEs to increase was observed²⁹.

The essential oil in contact with the skin can cause hypersensitivity phenomena under exposure to the sun, the hypersensitising reaction being attributed to nerol, linalool and geranial³⁰.

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

The leaf has been widely studied and contains, among other components, alkaloids: caffeine⁴; triterpenes: limonin⁵, β-amyrin; coumarins: herniarin, scopoletin⁶; flavonoids: rutin⁷, essential oil: linalool, sabinene⁸.

The fruit juice has been widely studied and contains, among other components, vitamin C⁹; alkanes: ethyl butyrate, 3-methyl-butan-1-ol^10; phenylpropanoids: caffeic, ferulic, paracoumaric¹¹, chlorogenic acids; flavonoids: naringin, quercetin, naringenin¹², heptamethoxy flavone¹³, hesperidin, idimina¹⁴, neoeriocitrin¹⁵; carotenoids¹⁶.

TRAMIL Work¹⁷
The juice of the pure fresh fruit (1 ml/mouse/5 days), orally in Hsd:ICR 26.5 ± 3.1 g mice (5 males and 5 females), intestinal transit model with activated carbon (0.1 ml/10 g), the negative control received water (0.3 ml/20 g) and the positive control atropine (2 mg/kg), significantly decreased intestinal transit.

The fruit extract in an in vitro model in rat platelets, inhibited cyclooxygenase (IC = 0.186 mg/ml)¹⁸.

The fresh fruit juice, against free radicals of 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), showed antioxidant activity¹⁸ and on the Poliovirus I in cell culture, antiviral action¹⁹.

The aqueous extract of dry pericarp showed in vitro antibacterial activity (IC₅₀ = 10.3 μg/ml) against Salmonella typhi on agar plate²⁰.

A comparative study of the fruit juice of Citrus sinensis, Citrus paradisi and mineral water (350 ml/person) with itraconazole (100 mg single dose), orally in healthy adults; C. sinensis reduced the half-life of the antifungal by 56%²¹.

Vitamin C has been described as having anti-infectious²² and antiscorbutic properties; it is an enzymatic co-factor, intervening in the synthesis of collagen and carnitine, the transformation of folic acid into folinic acid, the microsomal metabolism of drugs, the synthesis of noradrenaline and peptide hormones, the reduction of ferric to ferrous iron at the gastric level and the formation of adrenal hormones²³.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 WENIGER B, ROUZIER M, 1986
Enquête TRAMIL. Service Oecuménique d'Entraide SOE, Port au Prince, Haïti.

2 WENIGER B, 1987-88
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

3-21 TROVATO A, FORESTIERI AM, GALATI EM, TUMINO G, 1984
Influence of the fruit juice of several Citrus species on steroidogenesis in the rat. Plant Med Phytother 18(1):8-14.

4 STEWART I, 1985
Identification of caffeine in Citrus flowers and leaves. J Agric Food Chem 33(6):1163- 1165.

5 NICO KJ, CHANDLER BV, 1978
Roots as a probable site for Citrus limonoid biosynthesis. International Citrus Congress, Sydney, Australia. International Society of Citriculture 1:40-42.

6 ABDEL-ALIM MA, ABDEL-HAFEZ OM, EL-KHRISY AM, 1990
The constituents of Citrus sinensis leaves. Fitoterapia 61(5):470-471.

7 SHAFT N, IKRAM M, 1982
Quantitative survey of rutin-containing plants. Part 1. Int J Crude Drug Res 20(4):183- 186.

8 EKUNDAYO O, BAKARE O, ADESOMOIU A, STAHL-BISKUP E, 1990
Nigerian sweet orange leaf oil composition. J Essent Oil Res 2(5):199-201.

9 GUANGHAN L, YU W, LEIMING Y, SHUANGLONG H, 1994
Determination of ascorbic acid in fruits and vegetables by stripping voltammetry on a glassy carbon electrode. Food Chem 51(2):237-239.

10 RADFORD T, KAWASHIMA K, FRIEDEL PK, POPE LE, GIANTURCO MA, 1975
Distribution of volatile compounds between the pulp and serum of some fruit juices. J Agric Food Chem 22(6):1066.

11 ROUSEFF RL, SEETHARAMAN K, NAIM M, NAGY S, ZEHAVI U, 1992
Improved HPLC determination of hydroxycinnamic acids in orange juice using solvents containing THF. J Agric Food Chem 40(7):1139-1143.

12 SWATSITANG P, TUCKER G, ROBARDS K, JARDINE D, 2000
Isolation and identification of phenolic compounds in Citrus sinensis. Anal Chim Acta 417(2):231-240.

13 OOGHE WC, OOGHE SJ, DETAVERNIER M, HUYGHEBAERT A, 1995
Characterization of orange juice (Citrus sinensis) by polymethoxylated flavones. J Agric Food Chem 42(10):2191-2195.

14 OOGHE WC, DETAVERNIER CM, 1999
Flavonoids as authenticity markers for Citrus sinensis juice. Fruit Process 9(8):308-313.

15 WIDMER WW, 2000
Determination of naringin and neohesperidin in orange juice by liquid chromatography with UV detection to detect the presence grapefruit juice: collaborative study. J Assoc Offic Anal Chem Int 83(5):1155-1165.

16 GROSS J, CARMON M, LIFSHITZ A, SKLARZ B, 1975
Structural elucidation of some orange juice carotenoids. Phytochemistry 14(1):249-252.

17 PAZOS L, COTO T, REYES L, 2007
Tránsito Intestinal en ratones, del jugo fresco del fruto de Citrus sinensis. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

18 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 Agric Food Chem 44(3):725-729.

19 KONOWALCHUK J, SPEIRS JI, 1978
Antiviral effect of commercial juices and beverages. Appl Environ Microbiol 35(6):1219-1220.

20 PEREZ C, ANESINI C, 1994
In vitro antibacterial activity of Argentine folk medicinal plants against Salmonella typhi. J Ethnopharmacol 44(1):41-46.

21 KAWAKAMI M, SUZUKI K, ISHIZUKA T, HIDAKA T, MATSUKI Y, NAKAMURA H, 1998
Effect of grapefruit juice on pharmacokinetics of itraconazole in healthy subjects. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther 36(6):306-308.

22 BEZANGER-BEAUQUESNE L, PINKAS M, TORCK M, 1986
Les plantes dans la thérapeutique moderne. 2 éd. Paris, France: Ed. Maloine.

23 HARTMAN JG, LIMBIRD ILE, Eds., 1996
Goodman & Gilman, Las bases farmacológicas de la Terapéutica, 9ª edición. México, México: McGraw-Hill Editores. p1670-1671.

24 PAZOS L, COTO T, CAIZA F, 2008
Toxicidad oral aguda, dosis repetida, en ratón, de hojas frescas de Citrus sinensis. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

25 PAZOS L, COTO T, REYES L, 2007
Irritación ocular, en conejos, del jugo fresco del fruto de Citrus sinensis. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

26 MIYAGI Y, OM AS, CHEE KM, BENNINK MR, 2000
Inhibition of azoxymethane-induced colon cancer by orange juice. Nutr Cancer 36(2):224-229.

27 BALA S, GROVER IS, 1989
Antimutagenicity of some Citrus fruits in Salmonella typhimurium. Mutat Res 222(3):141-148.

28 PORTAL JA, RAMOS A, VIZOSO A, BETANCOURT J, 1995
Estudio genotóxico in vitro de una tintura al 50% de Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck. Medi Ciego 1(1):3-6.

29 PORTAL JA, 1995
Evaluación genotóxica in vitro e in vivo de una tintura al 50% de Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Tesis de Maestría). Universidad Médica de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba.

30 PELLECUER J, 1995
Aromaterapia y toxicidad de los aceites esenciales. Natura Medicatrix 37(8):36-40. 31 CANIGUERAL S, VILA R, RISCO E, PEREZ

31 F, PORTILLO A, FREIXA B, MILO B, VANACLOCHA B, RIOS JL, MORALES MA, ALONSO JR, BACHILLER LI, PERIS JB, STUBING G, 2002
Citrus sinensis. Vademecum de Fitoterapia, Editorial Masson, Barcelona, España, Jul.20,2002. URL: www.masson.es/book/fitoterapia.html

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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Citrus sinensis

Vernacular names

Dominican Republic:

Haiti:

Cuba:

Haiti:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

References

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