The efficacy and function of Daidaihua Citrus aurantium

Citrus aurantium is a very nutritious and precious medicinal material. Eating it regularly can have very good effects and functions. So how should we eat Citrus aurantium? What specific benefits can eating Citrus aurantium have for our body? We need to understand some professional knowledge of Citrus aurantium to answer these questions.

【English Name】 Bitter Orange Fruit

[Alias] Daidai, Daidaiyuan, Suzhike.

[Source] It is the fruit of Citrus aurantium L.var.amara Engl., a plant of the Rutaceae family . Pick the unripe green fruits in July and August, cut them in half from the middle, and dry them in the sun or in an oven.

[Original morphology] An evergreen small tree with sparsely covered short thorns on the branches and angular young branches. The leaves are elliptical to ovate-elliptical, 5-10 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide; the petiole is 2-2.5 cm long, and the leaf wings are inverted cordate. The flowers are in racemes; the calyx is 5-lobed, with lobes oval; the flowers are white, with 5 petals, 2 to 2.5 cm long; there are 21 to 24 stamens, often 3 to 5 of them are combined. The fruit is oblate, 7 to 8 cm in diameter, and has no aroma. The flowering period is from May to June, and the fruit ripens in December.

【Habitat distribution】 Cultivated in low mountain areas or hills. Mainly produced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

[Properties] After processing, the medicinal material is hemispherical, with a diameter of 3 to 4 cm; the surface is green-yellow or gray-yellow-brown, with reticular wrinkles, and there is a remnant of persistent calyx at the base of the fruit stalk; the outer pericarp is 0.5 to 1 cm thick, slightly turned outward, with 9 to 11 petals, each with 1 to several unripe seeds, and the central axis is 4 to 8 mm wide. Tastes bitter and sour.

[Chemical composition] Contains volatile oil, mainly limonene, and also contains decanal, nonanal, dodecanoic acid, linalyl acetate, nerolyl acetate, geranyl acetate; also contains hesperidin, neohesperidin, etc.

[Nature and flavor] Slightly cold in nature, bitter and sour in taste.

【Functions and indications】Promotes the flow of qi, relieves fullness, helps digestion, and resolves phlegm. Used for chest and abdominal distension and pain, indigestion, phlegm and rectal prolapse.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

The above is some introduction to the effects and functions of the traditional Chinese medicine Citrus aurantium. Citrus aurantium is of great help to human diseases, but it is worth noting that we should use symptomatic medication according to our personal physical condition and avoid indiscriminate consumption.