Bitter Orange

Overview. Bitter orange peel is the dried rind of the unripe or nearly ripe fruit of the sour orange tree, a small evergreen citrus long cultivated across the Mediterranean and now grown widely in warm climates worldwide. In Eclectic and European herbal medicine the peel has been valued as a classic aromatic bitter, used to rouse a weak appetite and settle a sluggish stomach, and it remains a common flavoring agent used to make other bitter medicines more palatable. It is distinct from the concentrated fruit extracts marketed for weight loss, which are standardized to much higher synephrine content and carry different safety concerns.

Clinical Notes. Bitter orange peel is reached for when digestion has simply slowed down: the patient picks at food, feels full quickly, and complains of gas and a heavy stomach after meals, often during recovery from illness or in older patients with a tired digestive tract.

Therapy. Stimulant, carminative and tonic, but used chiefly as a flavoring agent. This preparation is contained in both Compound Tincture of Cinchona and Compound Tincture of Gentian.

Properties and Uses. This article is a mild and grateful aromatic stimulant and relaxant, of moderate tonic properties. It warms the stomach, improves the appetite, and aids the expulsion of wind. It is rarely used alone; but is employed almost exclusively as an adjunct to the very bitter tonics and strong cathartics, to relieve their unpleasant taste and counterbalance their too local action.