Biological Activities Of Orange Oil

So good evening people. I am back with another series of articles that has emphasized on biological activities of essential oils. Some of you are very much aware with the term ‘biological activity’ while some have no clue of it. Keeping that in mind, I will start from scratch. I will provide sufficient information that will help you to understand this article better.

Highlights of the blog shown below:

So let us get started.

What is biological activity?

In simpler words, biological activity means the beneficial or adverse effect of anything. It is very commonly used in pharmacology where it is also known as pharmacological activity. In terms of essential oil, biological activity means effect of oil on individual body. It is dose dependent. We understand how an effect changes from beneficial to adverse according to its dose.

Because the essential oils possess biological activities they are utilized in industries and also used in several disorders in human and animals. Some known biological activities include antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal. We will see it in coming section.

Concise summary of Orange oil:

We all love oranges a lot. It’s been one favorite fruit we all had in our childhood. Though we were unaware of the wonderful properties it has. Oranges are one favorite fruit with all generations of people. The sweet juicy flavor is what makes it everyone preferred fruit. Sweet orange oil is derived from that favorite and preferred fruit that is botanically known as Citrus sinensis.

Do you know it is derived from the peel of fruits which is often left unnoticed? Yeah the peel we used to simply throw is very beneficial. The cold pressed and steam distillation method is more preferred choice for oil extraction. Orange oil as a food flavoring has been a common practice. A lot of research work was done to dig deeper into biological activities of orange oil.

Here we are going to talk about biological activities of Orange oil, let us read ahead.

Biological activity of Orange oil:

Antiseptic: Orange essential oil has potential to fight against bacteria by either stopping or killing them. This imparts the oil antiseptic activity in it. It is believed that orange oil contains alpha pinene in very small amount which has in it antiseptic properties. This property is often utilized to get rid of acne and breakouts.

Antidepressant: Orange oil has a significant role in aromatherapy. It can play role with many other essential oils too. The aroma of oil helps to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. Many studies have also been done to conclude the same yet the more research is needed.

Anti-inflammatory: Orange essential oil also has potential to overcome inflammation. This property of oil is utilized in cosmetic industries as it is widely used in skin care products. Oil contain beta-myrcene in some amount which has anti-inflammatory property in it. This way orange oil can benefit skin cells.

Digestive: This is counted as one of great activity as well as benefit of orange oil. Digestive system tracks record of all systems of body. Thus having a healthy digestive system can keep us away from many other health aliments. Orange oil has the ability to improve digestion and also provide relief from constipation. Abdomen pain can also be overcome by massaging with few drops of oil.

Anticancer: As we have seen that orange oil belongs to citrus family. Citrus family essential oils are rich in chemical known as limonene. Isomer of limonene that is d-limonene is major component of orange oil. Studies suggest that limonene has been investigated as a potential cancer treatment. As per study conducted in 2012, it was found that orange oil rich in limonene inhibited the growth and promoted the death of colon cancer cells in culture. Another study conducted in 2017 revealed that orange oil successfully inhibited growth of lung and prostate cancer cell lines in culture. As the research is limited to test tube, additional study is yet to be done on human body.

Antimicrobial: There were many researches done to know about antimicrobial property of orange oil. According to that, it was concluded that low concentration of orange oil inhibited the activity of bacteria especially Escherichia coli at refrigeration temperature. One such study was conducted on Staph bacteria which resulted that low concentration of orange oil killed bacteria without harming cultured cells. Orange oil showed activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Studies also concluded that orange oil can also prevent growth of fungi that spoils food. But this activity of oil was limited to few species of fungi only. This is one reason why orange oil is used in preservation of food.

Antioxidant: Oranges have always been good source of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), thiamine, folate and potassium. Similarly orange essential oil presented important content of flavonoids, phenolic compounds and tocopherols. These all helps to impart antioxidant activity to the oil. Thus they help to eliminate free radicals from the body.

Insecticidal: Orange oil can help to keep away insects like cockroach, ant etc. A similar study was conducted in the year 2012 to know about oil’s insecticidal nature. The study focused on orange oil effect on housefly larvae and pupae. This research concluded that it have insecticidal property both by contact and fumigation. Limonene present in essential is lethal to flies and ants. Thus, insects avoid the odor of oil. This way oil will benefit to keep away insects.

Analgesic: Many studies were conducted on orange oil to see the analgesic or pain relief capability of oil. In 2017 a study was conducted on people with bone fractures. Inhalation of orange oil reported less pain than the person who did not inhale. Another study was conducted with blend of ginger and orange oil which resulted that the pain relief is just short term. It provides instant relief from pain but did not hold true for long term.

Antispasmodic: Research suggested that orange oil has antispasmodic activity that reduces muscle spasms. It has even found helpful in sports related muscle cramps to diarrhea related abdominal cramps.

Conclusion:

Orange oil is one such oil you should incorporate in your life. We till now knew the benefits of orange as a fruit but even the oil obtained from its peels has plethora of beneficial activities in it. It can be awesome choice of oil for skin care as it nourishes dry and acne-prone skin. Please make sure to read all safety guidelines in my previous article before applying oil on skin. The aroma of orange oil turns the ambience beautiful with its relaxing and calming effect.

I hope you read the article till last, hope you liked it. Do like and comment, share your views with me. I would be more than happy to read it.

Thank you.

Biological activity | Orange oil |. Read more about biological activities of orange oil in this article.