Orange: a sweet-bitter comparison

The genus Citrus comprises about 16 species, the most important and well-known being: Sweet Orange (C. sinensis), Bitter Orange (C. aurantium var. amara), Lemon (C. limon), Lime (C. aurantifolia), Grapefruit (C. paradisi), Mandarin (C. reticulata), Citron (C. medica), Bergamot (C. x bergamia), and Chinotto (C. x myrtifolia).

These are small trees originating from East Asia, naturalized in the Mediterranean region, and cultivated worldwide in temperate-warm zones (California, Australia, and South America) for their edible fruits.

Among all these species, the Orange certainly represents the most important fruit plant in the world.

Based on different botanical, organoleptic, and chemical characteristics, two varieties of Orange are distinguished: the bitter and the sweet.

The Orange and all the components of the Citrus genus belong to the Rutaceae family, distinguished into two main groups: Rutaceae containing essential oils (including Orange and the species mentioned above) and those containing alkaloids.

Bitter Orange

Bitter Orange is a small tree, 4-5 meters tall, with a highly branched trunk and a spherical crown; with spiny branches, oval leaves, entire, dark green, slightly leathery, and shiny, with a 1-3 cm long petiole equipped with a wing. Looking at the leaves in transparency, it is possible to see with the naked eye clear dots, abundant on the margin; these are glands containing essential oil.

The flowers, white and fragrant, are arranged in terminal clusters, with very short calyx with five sepals, five petals, numerous stamens, superior ovary consisting of about 10 fused carpels, and a single style.

The fruit, called hesperidium, is a peculiar berry with indivisible epicarp and mesocarp and fleshy endocarp forming many compartments (segments), containing the seeds and the juice.

The fruit of Bitter Orange is smaller than that of Sweet Orange, has a rough surface of red-orange color when ripe, is rich in large schizogenous pockets containing essential oil, very visible to the naked eye.

From Bitter Orange, the peel (exocarp + mesocarp) of the fruits, the endocarp, the flowers, and the leaves are used.

The leaves contain hesperidin, synephrine, essential oil, glucose, tannin, and have digestive, antispasmodic, and sedative properties.

The flowers, called orange blossoms, harvested from April to May when they are still in buds, have antispasmodic and sedative properties.

The fruits, harvested from November to April, have peel containing: essential oil, hesperidin, isohesperidin, neohesperidin, auranziamarine, hesperidinic acid, pectin, vitamin A, and vitamin C. From the pulp of the fruits, the valuable and well-known “bitter orange marmalade” is obtained.

The peel has tonic-bitter, stomachic, and febrifugal properties.

From the cold-pressed squeezing of the peel, an essential oil is obtained containing: limonene, myrcene, camphene, pinene, ocimene, alcohols, ketones, and aldehydes. The properties of the essential oil are antiseptic, bactericidal, antifungal, carminative, and sedative.

Bitter Orange contains a wide range of constituents including flavonoid glycosides (such as hesperidin), coumarins, polymethoxyflavones, aldehydes, amines, and monoterpenes.

The active principles are two: octopamine and synephrine.

In Italy, Circular No. 3 of July 18, 2002, published in the Official Gazette No. 188 of 12/08/2002, reports specific warnings for products containing certain plant ingredients. Regarding Bitter Orange, the circular reads: “the daily intake of synephrine with the indicated quantities of use must not exceed 30 mg, corresponding to about 800 mg of Citrus aurantium with a 4% title of this substance. Warnings: do not exceed the recommended daily dose. In the presence of cardiovascular diseases and/or hypertension, consult a doctor before taking the product. Its use is not recommended during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and for children under 12 years of age”.

From the flowers, an essential oil is obtained through steam distillation, known as Neroli, named in honor of the Princess of Nerola, second wife of Prince Flavio Orsini of Nerola and Duke of Bracciano, who loved to use it as perfume, so much so that it became a fashion that spread in France at the court of Louis XIV. The essence is not only pleasant but also possesses antispasmodic and sedative properties and is used in lotions and preparations for external use (massage) in situations of stress, nervous tension, and insomnia. In cosmetics, it shows purifying, tonic, and firming action.

The traditional uses of Orange reflect those now scientifically recognized: the infusion of flowers was drunk to cure bronchitis, while the infusion of the peel was used as a spasmolytic and sedative; also, to repel moths, an orange with cloves was placed in the closets.

Sweet Orange

Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis = Citrus aurantium var. dulcis) is a tree that can reach up to 12 meters, the leaves do not have a winged petiole and contain fewer oil-secreting pockets, which is why it has a less pronounced odor than the fruits of the bitter variety.

The flowers are smaller and less fragrant, while the hesperidium has a diameter of 10-15 cm and is mainly used as a fruit for consumption.

The first Sweet Orange tree was imported into Europe by Portuguese sailors and given to the Prime Minister of Portugal in the 15th century. This perhaps explains why even today, in some regional areas, Sweet Orange is called “Portugal”, indicating the name of the fruit as that of the first European nation it landed in.

The drug consists of the peel and endocarp of the fruit.

From the peel, an essence is obtained by cold pressing; composed of limonene, alpha-pinene, myrcene, sabinene (monoterpenes), aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, and auraptene (coumarin family).

The essence has antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiseptic, carminative, choleric, digestive, hypotensive, and sedative properties. It is also used against obesity, water retention, respiratory ailments, constipation, aerophagia, but also as a flavoring agent in pharmacy and as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps.

Curiosity: In Greek mythology, Juno is said to have brought as a dowry trees that produced golden fruits, namely oranges and lemons, symbolizing love and fertility (hence the custom, in wedding celebrations, of orange blossoms, considered a symbol of the bride’s purity). Jupiter, worried that the precious gift might be stolen from him, transplanted the trees into a wonderful garden that he had guarded by the dragon Aidone and mythical maidens, with the sweetest singing, called the Hesperides (hence the idea of ​​having given the name Hesperidium to all citrus fruits).

The Carnival of Ivrea (TO) is known as the battle of the oranges, a reenactment of a legendary popular revolt. The protagonist of the legend is Violetta, the daughter of a miller, promised bride to Toniotto, who rebels against the claims of the feudal lord claiming the right to jus primae noctis. Pretending to accept the invitation, after going to the Castle of S. Maurizio, she kills the tyrant with a dagger hidden in her hair and signals to the people, tired of continuous taxes and abuses, to revolt against the nobles. The battle of the oranges recalls this rebellion: the people represented by the 9 squads of foot orange throwers, fight with oranges against the armies of the feudal lord, represented by shooters on horse-drawn carts, wearing protections and masks reminiscent of ancient armor.

ANJA LATINI

Registered Herbalist RNEP no. GLT0018S