Bitter orange
Encyclopedia
The name "bitter orange", also known as Seville orange, sour orange, bigarade orange, and marmalade orange, refers to a citrus
tree (Citrus × aurantium) and its fruit. Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil
, which is used in perfume
and as a flavoring. The Seville orange variety is used in the production of marmalade
.
Bitter orange is also employed in herbal medicine
as a stimulant
and appetite suppressant. The active ingredient, synephrine
, has been linked to a number of deaths, and consumer groups advocate avoiding medicinal use of the fruit.
cuisine, especially in Tamil cuisine
. It is pickled
by cutting it into spirals and stuffing it with salt. The pickle is usually consumed with thayir sadam
. The fresh fruit is also used frequently in pachadi
s. The juice from the ripe fruit is also used as a marinade for meat in Nicaraguan, Cuban
, Dominican and Haitian cooking. The peel can be used in the production of bitters
. In Mexico, it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil.
The Belgian Witbier (white beer
) is made from wheat spiced with the peel of the bitter orange. The Finnish and Swedish use bitter orange peel in gingerbread
(pepparkakor) and in mämmi
. It is also used in the Nordic mulled wine
glögg. In Greece
and Cyprus
, the nerántzi or kitrómilon, respectively, is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets, and the C. aurantium tree (nerantziá or kitromiliá) is a popular ornamental tree
. In Iran, the juice is used as fish marinade
. The blossoms are also used to flavor tea and jam.
purported to act as a weight-loss aid and appetite suppressant. Bitter orange contains the tyramine
metabolites N-methyltyramine
, octopamine
and synephrine
, substances similar to epinephrine
, which act on the α1 adrenergic receptor
to constrict blood vessels
and increase blood pressure
and heart rate
. There is no evidence that bitter orange is effective in promoting weight loss.
Following bans on the herbal stimulant ephedra
in the U.S.
, Canada
, and elsewhere, bitter orange has been substituted into "ephedra-free" herbal weight-loss products by dietary supplement manufacturers. Like most dietary supplement ingredients, bitter orange has not undergone formal safety testing, but it is believed to cause the same spectrum of adverse events
as ephedra. Case report
s have linked bitter orange supplements to stroke
s, angina
, and ischemic colitis
. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that "there is currently little evidence that bitter orange is safer to use than ephedra." Bitter orange may have serious drug interactions with drugs such as statin
s in a similar way to grapefruit
.
Following an incident in which a a healthy young man suffered a myocardial infarction
(heart attack) linked to bitter orange, a case study found that dietary supplement manufacturers who replaced ephedra with its analogs from "bitter orange" had in effect found a loophole in the ephedra ban, substituting a similarly dangerous substance while labeling the products as "ephedra-free".
in groves of sweet orange. The fruit and leaves make lather
and can be used as soap
. The hard white or light yellow wood
is used in woodworking
and made into baseball bat
s in Cuba
.
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
tree (Citrus × aurantium) and its fruit. Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
, which is used in perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
and as a flavoring. The Seville orange variety is used in the production of marmalade
Marmalade
Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...
.
Bitter orange is also employed in herbal medicine
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
as a stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
and appetite suppressant. The active ingredient, synephrine
Synephrine
Synephrine is a drug commonly used for weight loss. While its effectiveness is widely debated, synephrine has gained significant popularity as an alternative to ephedrine, a related substance which has been made illegal or restricted in many countries due to health risks and its use as a precursor...
, has been linked to a number of deaths, and consumer groups advocate avoiding medicinal use of the fruit.
Varieties
- Citrus aurantium subsp. amara is a spinyThorns, spines, and pricklesIn botanical morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles are hard structures with sharp, or at least pointed, ends. In spite of this common feature, they differ in their growth and development on the plant; they are modified versions of different plant organs, stems, stipules, leaf veins, or hairs...
evergreenEvergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree native to southern VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, but widely cultivated. It is used as graftingGraftingGrafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
stockRootstockA rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
for citrusCitrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
trees, in marmaladeMarmaladeMarmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...
, and in liqueurLiqueurA liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
such as triple secTriple secTriple sec, originally Curaçao triple sec, is a variety of Curaçao liqueur, an orange-flavoured liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet orange....
, Grand MarnierGrand MarnierGrand Marnier is a liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of true cognacs and distilled essence of bitter orange. Grand Marnier is 40% alcohol . It is produced in several varieties, most of which can be consumed "neat" as a digestif and can be used in...
and CuraçaoCuraçao liqueurCuraçao is a liqueur flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved...
. It is also cultivated for the essential oilEssential oilAn essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
expressed from the fruit, and for neroli oil and orange flower waterOrange flower waterOrange flower water, or orange blossom water, is a clear, perfumed distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms.This essential water has traditionally been used in many French and Mediterranean dessert dishes, such as the gibassier and pompe à l'huile, but has more recently found its way into...
, which are distilledDistillationDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
from the flowerFlowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s. - SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
orange (or bigarade) is a widely-known, particularly tart orange which is now grown throughout the Mediterranean region. It has a thick, dimpled skin, and is prized for making marmaladeMarmaladeMarmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...
, being higher in pectinPectinPectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot...
than the sweet orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, and therefore giving a better set and a higher yield. It is also used in compoteCompoteCompote is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are immersed in water and with sugar and spices added to the dish, over gentle heat. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder,...
s and for orange-flavored liqueurs. Once a year, oranges of this variety are collected from trees in Seville and shipped to Britain to be used in marmalade. However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in AndalusiaAndalusiaAndalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
. - Bergamot orangeBergamot orangeCitrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, is a fragrant fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow colour similar to a lemon. Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cultivars recently matched the bergamot as a likely hybrid of Citrus limetta and Citrus aurantium...
, C. aurantium subsp. bergamia is cultivated in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for the production of bergamot oil, a component of many brands of perfumePerfumePerfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
and teaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, especially Earl Grey teaEarl Grey teaEarl Grey tea is a tea blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit....
. - Chinotto, from the myrtle-leaved orangeCitrus myrtifoliaCitrus myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaved orange tree, is a species of Citrus with foliage similar to that of the common myrtle. It is a compact tree with small leaves and no thorns which grows to a height of three meters and can be found in Malta and in the Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily, and Calabria...
tree, C. aurantium var. myrtifolia, is used for the namesake Italian soda beverage. This is sometimes considered a separate species. - DaidaiDaidaiThe daidai , is an Asian variety of bitter orange. The name daidai, originally meaning several generations, originates from the fruit staying on the tree for several years if not picked. The colour of the fruit returns to green in the spring.The daidai originated in the Himalayas...
, C. aurantium var. daidai, is used in Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
and Japanese New YearJapanese New YearThe is one of the most important annual festivals, with its own unique customs, and has been celebrated for centuries. Due to the importance of the holiday and the preparations required, the preceding days are quite busy, particularly the day before, known as Ōmisoka.The Japanese New Year has been...
celebrations. The aromatic flowers are added to tea. - Wild Florida sour orange is found near small streams in generally secluded and wooded parts of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Bahamas. It was introducedIntroduced speciesAn introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to the area from Spain.
In cooking
The unripe fruit, called narthangai, is commonly used in Southern IndianSouth India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
cuisine, especially in Tamil cuisine
Tamil cuisine
Tamil Nadu is famous for its hospitality and its deep belief that serving food to others is a service to humanity, as is common in many regions of India. The region has a rich cuisine involving both traditional vegetarian, as well as non-vegetarian dishes. It is characterized by the use of rice,...
. It is pickled
Pickling
Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
by cutting it into spirals and stuffing it with salt. The pickle is usually consumed with thayir sadam
Thayir sadam
Curd rice also called yogurt rice is a dish of India. The word "curd" as used in India usually refers to a liquidy, sour, unsweetened yoghurt. It is most popular in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu...
. The fresh fruit is also used frequently in pachadi
Pachadi
Pachadi refers to a traditional South Indian side-dish. Broadly translated, it refers to food which has been pounded. The definition of the word 'Pachadi' is different among different South Indian regions...
s. The juice from the ripe fruit is also used as a marinade for meat in Nicaraguan, Cuban
Cuban cuisine
Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences...
, Dominican and Haitian cooking. The peel can be used in the production of bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
. In Mexico, it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil.
The Belgian Witbier (white beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
) is made from wheat spiced with the peel of the bitter orange. The Finnish and Swedish use bitter orange peel in gingerbread
Gingerbread
Gingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...
(pepparkakor) and in mämmi
Mämmi
Mämmi is a traditional Finnish Easter dessert. The Swedish language name for it is memma.Mämmi is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel. The mixture is then allowed to go through a slow natural sweetening...
. It is also used in the Nordic mulled wine
Mulled wine
Mulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...
glögg. In Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, the nerántzi or kitrómilon, respectively, is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets, and the C. aurantium tree (nerantziá or kitromiliá) is a popular ornamental tree
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. In Iran, the juice is used as fish marinade
Marination
Marination is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid...
. The blossoms are also used to flavor tea and jam.
In medicine
The extract of bitter orange (and bitter orange peel) has been marketed as dietary supplementDietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
purported to act as a weight-loss aid and appetite suppressant. Bitter orange contains the tyramine
Tyramine
Tyramine is a naturally occurring monoamine compound and trace amine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine acts as a catecholamine releasing agent...
metabolites N-methyltyramine
N-Methyltyramine
N-Methyltyramine is a natural phenethylamine alkaloid found in a variety of plants. Biosynthetically, it is produced by the methylation of tyramine via the action of the enzyme tyramine N-methyltransferase....
, octopamine
Octopamine
Octopamine is an endogenous biogenic amine that is closely related to norepinephrine, and has effects on the adrenergic and dopaminergic systems. It is also found naturally in numerous plants, including bitter orange. Biosynthesis of the D--enantiomer of octopamine is by β-hydroxylation of...
and synephrine
Synephrine
Synephrine is a drug commonly used for weight loss. While its effectiveness is widely debated, synephrine has gained significant popularity as an alternative to ephedrine, a related substance which has been made illegal or restricted in many countries due to health risks and its use as a precursor...
, substances similar to epinephrine
Epinephrine
Epinephrine is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels, dilates air passages and participates in the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system. In chemical terms, adrenaline is one of a group of monoamines called the catecholamines...
, which act on the α1 adrenergic receptor
Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor
The alpha-1 adrenergic receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor associated with the Gq heterotrimeric G-protein. It consists of three highly homologous subtypes, including α1A-, α1B-, and α1D-adrenergic...
to constrict blood vessels
Vasoconstriction
Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, particularly the large arteries, small arterioles and veins. The process is the opposite of vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels. The process is particularly important in...
and increase blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
and heart rate
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
. There is no evidence that bitter orange is effective in promoting weight loss.
Following bans on the herbal stimulant ephedra
Ephedra
Ephedra refers to the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang , has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and elsewhere, bitter orange has been substituted into "ephedra-free" herbal weight-loss products by dietary supplement manufacturers. Like most dietary supplement ingredients, bitter orange has not undergone formal safety testing, but it is believed to cause the same spectrum of adverse events
Adverse Events
"Adverse Events" is the third episode of the fifth season of House and the eighty-ninth episode overall. It first aired on September 30, 2008. Breckin Meyer guest starred as an artist who has an unexplained visual problem.- Plot :...
as ephedra. Case report
Case report
In medicine, a case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient, but usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence....
s have linked bitter orange supplements to stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s, angina
Angina
Angina pectoris, commonly known as angina, is chest pain due to ischemia of the heart muscle, generally due to obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries . Coronary artery disease, the main cause of angina, is due to atherosclerosis of the cardiac arteries...
, and ischemic colitis
Ischemic colitis
Ischemic colitis is a medical condition in which inflammation and injury of the large intestine result from inadequate blood supply. Although uncommon in the general population, ischemic colitis occurs with greater frequency in the elderly, and is the most common form of bowel ischemia...
. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that "there is currently little evidence that bitter orange is safer to use than ephedra." Bitter orange may have serious drug interactions with drugs such as statin
Statin
Statins are a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol in the liver. Increased cholesterol levels have been associated with cardiovascular diseases, and statins are therefore used in the...
s in a similar way to grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
.
Following an incident in which a a healthy young man suffered a myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
(heart attack) linked to bitter orange, a case study found that dietary supplement manufacturers who replaced ephedra with its analogs from "bitter orange" had in effect found a loophole in the ephedra ban, substituting a similarly dangerous substance while labeling the products as "ephedra-free".
Other uses
This orange is used as a rootstockRootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
in groves of sweet orange. The fruit and leaves make lather
Foam
-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
and can be used as soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
. The hard white or light yellow wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is used in woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
and made into baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
s in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
External links
- Bitter Orange: Information from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Bitter Orange List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's Databases)