Orange Tree: Discover the Surprising Health Benefits

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Since the orange tree arrived on the Mediterranean coast of southern Europe from the Middle East and Asia in Ancient Times, its success has never decreased. Its elegant shape, the rich aroma of its flowers, and the excellence of its fruit—as with sweet oranges—made it conquer the fields and tables of the whole world.

A few years after Columbus reached America, Spaniards took the orange tree there, specifically to Mexico, Florida, and California, where we currently find the most extensive orange orchards.

Orange Tree Scientific Facts

1. Scientific Name—Citrus aurantium L.
2. Similar Species—Citrus aurantium, var. sinensis L = Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, (sweet orange).
3. Other Names—Bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange.
4. French—Oranger.
5. Spanish—Naranjo.
6. Environment—Orange trees are indigenous to Central Asia, but their cultivation has spread throughout the Mediterranean region and warm areas of America.
7. Description—A tree of the Rutaceae family with thorns on its branches, it grows from 2 to 5 m high. Its evergreen leaves bear a small, winged heart-shaped petiole. The flowers are white and grow on the axis of the leaves. The fruit is well-known oranges.
8. The parts of the plant used medicinally are the leaves, flowers, and fruits (especially those of the sweet orange tree).

Warning

People suffering from gall bladder dysfunction should avoid breakfast oranges. Due to their cholagogue action, they provoke quick emptying of the gall bladder, which may produce slight abdominal upsets such as the feeling of bloatedness in the stomach and a sensation of distension.

Healing Properties

The entire orange tree is rich in aromatic essences with medicinal effects, though the highest concentration is found in its flowers. Sweet oranges are the most well-known and cultivated of their varieties. However, the bitter or sour type of orange tree is most often used in phytotherapy. Even though both orange trees offer the same properties, the bitter orange has a higher concentration of aromatic substances and active components.

The LEAVES, and generally the FLOWERS of the orange tree, known in some countries by Azahar (from Arabic az-Zahar, which means white flower), contain an essence composed of limonene and linalool, among other aromatic substances. It owes its sedative, antispasmodic, and slightly somniferous (producing sleepiness) action to these substances. Its use is recommended in the following conditions:

1. Insomnia—It provides mild sedation, making falling asleep easier.
2. Nervousness and irritability—It renders good results in these cases without the danger of addiction or other harmful side effects. It may even be taken by children, which tranquilizes them and produces calm sleep.
3. Migraines—caused by arterial spasms.
4. Digestive dysfunction—Stomach spasms gastric pain of a nervous origin (nerves in the stomach), and aerophagia and belching.
5. Heart palpitations, fainting, and weakness—Oranges blossoms are part of the famous Carmel water and the melissa.
6. Menstrual pain—Caused by uterine spasms.

Orange blossom essence is extracted from the flowers, and the essence called petitgrain is removed from the leaves.

The RIND of the fruits, especially that of the bitter oranges, is rich in flavonoid glycosides (naringin, hesperidin, and rhutine), whose action is similar to that of vitamin P. Thus, it is used in cases of capillary and vascular weakness (edema, varicose veins, blood clotting dysfunction). It is an excellent digestive tonic with an appetizer effect, and it aids in digestion. Like the flowers and leaves, it also has a slight sedative effect.

The Sweet Orange

Sweet oranges are among the most appreciated fruits in cold countries since it is a source of vitamin C in winter. It is directly eaten, or it’s delicious juice drunk. Orange juice must be drunk immediately after being prepared to take advantage of its medicinal and nutritional properties.

Vitamin C is quickly destroyed when in contact with oxygen, and other components that undergo unfavorable changes notably alter their aspect and flavor. Thus, vitamin C is usually added to industrial orange juices, though this does not recreate all the original properties.

Oranges contain vitamins A, B, C, and P, flavonoids, sugars, organic acids, and mineral salts. They have antiscorbutic (preventing scurvy), stimulating, flavorful, and cholagogue properties (provoking gall bladder emptying). They are recommended in the following cases:

1. Infectious diseases or fever.
2. Fatigue, asthenia (sensation of tiredness).
3. Malnutrition, anemia, rickets.
4. Thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, and circulation dysfunctions in general. Oranges diminish blood viscosity and produce a protective effect on blood vessels due to vitamin P, among other substances.

Bitter oranges are commonly used only for jellies and marmalades.

How to use Orange Tree

1. Infusion of leaves and/or flowers, 10-20 grams per liter of water (3 or 6 flowers are sufficient to formulate a soothing infusion). Drink three or four cups daily, especially before going to bed.
2. Decoction. Boil 30 grams of dry rind, cut into pieces, in half a liter of water for 15 minutes. It may be sweetened with honey. Drink a cup after each meal.

DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. Do not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.

REFERENCES

1. George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Ed. Francesc X. Gelabert. Vols. 1 San Fernando de Henares: Editorial Safeliz, 2000. 153, 154. Print.
2. https://citrusricus.com/en/blogs/the-garden-1/propiedades-saludables-de-las-hojas-del-naranjo