Bergamot orange

Bergamot, the common name of Citrus bergamia Risso, belongs to the family Rutaceae, subfamily Esperidea and it has been widespread in the Mediterranean area for centuries. Bergamot is a plant that produces a type of citrus fruit. Oil from the peel of the fruit, and extract from the fruit juice, are used to make medicine.

The fruit was commonly cultivated for its essential oil extracted from the peel, which is used in the cosmetic, perfumery and food industries.

In foods, bergamot oil is widely used as a citrus flavoring agent, especially in gelatins and puddings. In Greece, the unripe fruits are used as sweetmeats, eaten by the spoonful as a dessert or with coffee.

The classes of flavonoids present in C. bergamia Risso fractions are flavanones and flavones. Flavanones are present as flavanone-O-glycosides, recently, flavanones diglycosides carrying the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid (HMG) moiety have also been detected. Flavones are present as flavone-O-glycosides, flavone-C-glycosides or polymethoxyflavones.

There has been an increasing interest in the use of its juice as a beverage and also in a blend with other fruit juices. This interest is related to the demand for minimally processed foods and functional foods containing antioxidants and biomolecules whose beneficial effects on human health have been widely studied regarding diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, insulin resistance and neuro-disease.
Bergamot orange