Botanical name of bitter orange and its medicinal uses

Common Names: Bitter Orange

The Botanical Name is Citrus x aurantium subsp. amara

Family: Rutaceae.

Medicinal Uses: Diet/weight Loss

Properties: Appetite Depressant

Parts Used: Fruit, peel, flowers, and leaves.

Constituents: synephrine alkaloids and para-octopamine6,16,17. Flavonoids, including limonene, hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringin, and tangaretin.

Habitat: Native to tropical Asia, this tree is now grown throughout the tropics and subtropics. Orchards of bitter orange are found along the Mediterranean coast, especially in Spain.

Side Effects: Bitter orange or synephrine, found in bitter orange, has been associated with adverse cardiovascular reactions.

How to Prepare bitter orange medicines

Fruit:

• DECOCTION: The fruit based decoction of the orange can be used in the treatment of problems like indigestion, symptomatic constipation, or persistent coughs. The decoction can be used in a combination formula with some dang gui for the treatment of menstrual pain affecting women.
• TINCTURE: Orange based fruit tincture can be taken in drop doses for soothing uneasiness, treating the symptoms of shock, and curing insomnia in patients.

Neroli oil:

• CREAM: The oil can be used to fortify cream by mixing one to two drops in some skin cream. This can then be applied on the skin for treating various topical conditions.
• MASSAGE OIL: The oil can be mixed at a rate of one to two drops per 10 ml of almond oil and this mixture can be massaged for treating various nervous conditions and problems affecting the digestive system.
• ORANGE FLOWER WATER: The flower water of the orange is a distilled byproduct of steam distillation of the orange essence. This solution can be used as a soothing carminative; it can also be taken to alleviate uneasiness, the symptoms of shock, or to treat insomnia in patients. Five to ten ml of this solution in a baby's bottle can be used to treat colic or sleep disorders in babies.

Peel:

• DECOCTION: An herbal decoction can be made using both types of peel; this decoction can be used in the treatment of problems such as indigestion and bloating in the abdominal region. Coughs can be treated by taking the chen pi decoction.
• SYRUP: The herbal orange chen pi peel syrup can be taken at 2-4 ml syrup per dose for the treatment of coughs.