Effects of limonene and essential oil from Citrus aurantium on gastric mucosa: Role of prostaglandins and gastric mucus secretion

Abstract

Essential oil from Citrus aurantium and the monoterpene limonene are widely used flavoring agents that are found in some common food items. This specie is also used medicinally throughout the world to treat gastritis and gastric disorders. Therefore, biological assays were performed in vivo on essential oil of C. aurantium (OEC) and its majority compound limonene (LIM) to evaluate their effect on gastric mucosa. The OEC (250 mg/kg, p.o.) and LIM (245 mg/kg, p.o.) provided effective (99%) gastroprotection against lesions induced by absolute ethanol and NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in rats. OEC and LIM do not interfere with gastric H(+) secretion, serum gastrin or glutathione (GSH) level in gastric mucosa. But the gastroprotective action of OEC and LIM occurs due to an increase in the gastric mucus production induced by conserving the basal PGE(2) levels after challenge by agents harmful to the gastric mucosa. Given that LIM and OEC are excellent flavoring agents and also present gastroprotective actions, they can be regarded as a promising target for the development of a new drug for the prevention of gastric damage.

Effect of Citrus aurantium L. Essential Oil on Muscle Regeneration in Mdx Mice

“…Citrus has been proven to present anti-inflammatory action against ulcer by inhibiting H+ release and leading to increased gastric mucus secretion (Moraes et al, 2007;2009). Nevertheless, components isolated from citrus still must be tested before their anti-inflammatory action on the striated muscle is ruled out.…”

“…The vegetal material (fruits peels) was mixed inside a glass balloon (5 L) with distilled water and put on a heated pad. The essential oil (OEC) obtained was stored in an amber bottle at 5ºC temperature until the accomplishment of the pharmacological experiments and phytochemical analyses (Moraes et al, 2009).…”

Phytochemical Analysis and Inhibitory Effect of Citrus aurantium L. (Bitter Orange) Leaves on some Bacterial Isolates in vitro

“…Citrus aurantium L. used for medicinal purposes such as the leaves, peel and flowers of the plant. [4] Many active phytoconstituents such as flavonoids have a large spectrum of biological activity including antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, antifungal and antidiabetic activities. [5,6] The phytochemicals are also known as secondary metabolites that are derived from primary metabolites and are used as drugs.…”

Effect of essential oil from Citrus aurantium in maternal reproductive outcome and fetal anomaly frequency in rats

“…Novel triterpenoid from C. aurantium L. also possesses chemopreventive properties against human colon cancer cells (Gougeon et al 2005). Given that limonene and essential oil of C. aurantium are excellent flavoring agents and also present gastroprotective actions, they are being considered promising for the development of a new drug for the prevention of gastric damage (Moraes et al 2009). However, safety information is extremely limited, and because Citrus aurantium contains the sympathomimetic drug m-synephrine (phenylephrine), consumption of the herb may lead to increased blood pressure and risk of adverse cardiovascular events (Bent et al 2004, Hansen et al 2011).…”