Who among us doesn’t love to treat ourselves to a nice juice, especially when it’s cold and a cold is lurking? All citrus fruits are a mine of substances useful for health that must find a place on our tables, but also in the preparation of medicines and supplements, as well as in cosmetics. The conference reminds us of this”Health: It’s citrus time“, organized on Saturday 27th in Florence at the Auditorium of the Careggi university hospital.
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“We deal with the topic from a transversal point of view, in the season in which more citrus fruits are consumed. To remind those who only think about juices that there is much more”, explains the scientific director of the conference Fabio Firenzuoli, professor of Phytotherapy at the University of Florence and head of CERFIT (Reference Center for Phytotherapy) in Careggi. “And today research confirms that a diet rich in citrus fruits is healthy.”
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Citrus fruits: there is not only vimanin C
We must not only think about vitamin C: “From a nutritional point of view, citrus fruits are rich in antioxidant vitamins, but also in minerals and fibers which help regulate cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as intestinal functions. Without forgetting that lemon or other citrus fruits facilitate the absorption of the iron contained in vegetables”, adds another of the speakers at the conference, Francesco Sofi of the department of experimental and clinical medicine of the University of Florence.
Some precautions
You just need to pay attention, particularly for grapefruit, to interactions with drugs, avoiding combining the consumption of the fruit with the intake of an active ingredient. “Some precautions are also necessary for those who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux – continues Sofi – and in general it is best not to exceed the doses so as not to consume too much sugar, still preferring whole fruit to freshly squeezed juices or, even worse, to the extractor which completely eliminates the very useful fibres”.
Whole, juiced or centrifuged?
In fact, one of the data that emerges is that it would be better to eat whole citrus fruits. “Indeed, when you are sure that it is untreated citrus fruit, you should also consume the peel which is rich in useful substances”, recalls Firenzuoli. “For example, adding whole citrus fruits to fruit and vegetable juicers, and remembering to then use the fibers that remain in the appliance for sweet or savory food preparations.”
But various substances used in pharmacies are extracted from citrus fruits, “such as citric acid and sodium citrate which serve to regulate the PH of various formulations, or the sweetener neohesperidin, calorie-free and used among other things in syrups intended for patients diabetics,” he explains Tommaso Pelagattipharmacist, galenic preparation and speaker at the conference.
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Essential oils and supplements
“Then there are essential oils used for their relaxing effect, obtained by inhalation or by inserting them into massage oil.” In particular the limonene used for its anxiolytic effect, often associated with other essential oils such as lavender. “Without forgetting the effect on the microcirculation of citroflavonoids contained in the peels of citrus fruits and also used in combination with other plants such as horse chestnut and blueberry”, explains the pharmacist. These may be supplements or galenic preparations to be used for heaviness in the legs, varicose veins or hemorrhoids, “while the sinefrina extracted from the bitter orange”, continues Pelagatti, “it is used for its thermogenic activity which, associated with a diet, can promote weight loss, remembering that it is important to respect the desired doses to avoid adverse effects at a cardiovascular level or interactions with drugs, so much so that in supplements there is a maximum dosage which must not be exceeded”.
The greatest evidence concerns the peel of citrus fruits and orange blossoms: “The peel of the bitter orange has been and is used as a flavoring in herbal teas, but also as a source of synephrine, exploited by athletes as an energizer, and as a slimming agent, even if on ‘slimming effect there are no solid confirmations,’ adds Firenzuoli, ‘more interesting are the studies on the anxiolytic effects oforange essential oil (neroli), which in aromatherapy has relaxing and anti-anxiety effects, and can be used in many situations, even for patients in intensive care or hemodialysis and pregnant women”.
There are also important studies on bergamotof which Italy and in particular Calabria ensures a large part of the world‘s production, as he explains Giacinto Bagettahead of the Pharmacology section at the University of Calabria – Cosenza: “For years”, observes the pharmacologist, “we have been studying bergamot essential oil for its antidepressant and analgesic effects, we know that it promotes the release of endogenous opioids”.
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The difficulty lies in transforming the very fragrant oil into a product that has a reproducible pharmacological effect: “To carry out scientific studies using a placebo it is necessary to make the perfume imperceptible”, explains Bagetta. “We have solved the problem with a nanotechnological device that allows the oil particles to be encapsulated, making them odorless.”
The studies are still ongoing, “but we can already say that bergamot, used in topical applications via inhalation or massage, is effective for treating behavioral disorders in patients with dementia, particularly aggression: the objective is to reduce the consumption of drugs with serious side effects”.
The action on metabolism (and not only)
Furthermore, citrus fruits are important, not only as foods, for their action on the metabolism: “Interesting studies show how citrus juice, particularly if enriched with fibre, serves to lower LDL cholesterol (the so-called “bad” cholesterol ) – concludes Firenzuoli -. We cannot in fact forget the role of terpenes and gods citroflavonoids contained in the peel for its anti-inflammatory activity in the prevention of cardiovascular and neoplastic pathologies”.
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