European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

PHARMACOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF CITRUS MEDICA PEEL

Santoshi Bisht*

ABSTRACT

Citrus medica Linn. commonly known as citron in English and Bijapura in ayurvedic literature, is a fragrant fruit. It is a prominent member in the genus citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae or Rue family, sub-family Aurantioideae, which is widely used in traditional system of medicine. The objective of this paper is to review the literature regarding the pharmacological activity of Citrus medica Linn. peel. The citrus fruits and juices are a good source of antioxidants such as flavonoids, phenolic content, and ascorbic acid etc. Citrus fruit peel contains highest concentration of flavonoids, which represents almost one half of the fruit mass. Citrus medica byproducts also represent a rich source of naturally occurring flavonoids. Traditionally Citrus medica was used to combat sea sickness, pulmonary troubles, intestinal ailments and other disorders. Fruit of citron is ovate or oblong which bears numerous seeds. Owing to the presence of large quantity of albedo, citron’s fruit shape is highly variable. The inner portion is thick, white and fleshly and the outer portion is uniformly thin. The pulps are usually acidic. Result shows that Citrus medica peel possess antioxidant & free radical scavenging activity, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic and anticholinesterase, cardiotonic, anti-implantation, antimicrobial, antidiabetic and antilipideamic properties.

Keywords: Citrus medica, Chemical constituents, Distribution, Morphological characteristics and Pharmacological activities.