Review

. 2023 Feb 14;12(2):481.

doi: 10.3390/antiox12020481.

The Chemical Variability, Nutraceutical Value, and Food-Industry and Cosmetic Applications of Citrus Plants: A Critical Review

Anis Ben Hsouna^{1

2}, Carmen Sadaka³, Ivana Generalić Mekinić⁴, Stefania Garzoli⁵, Jaroslava Švarc-Gajić⁶, Francisca Rodrigues⁷, Simone Morais⁷, Manuela M Moreira⁷, Eduarda Ferreira⁷, Giorgia Spigno⁸, Tanja Brezo-Borjan⁶, Boutheina Ben Akacha¹, Rania Ben Saad¹, Cristina Delerue-Matos⁷, Wissem Mnif⁹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Biotechnology and Plant Improvement, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P "1177", Sfax 3018, Tunisia.
² Department of Environmental Sciences and Nutrition, Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology of Mahdia, University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia.
³ Madison, WI 53704, USA.
⁴ Department of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Split, R. Boškovića 35, HR-21000 Split, Croatia.
⁵ Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drug, Sapienza University, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁶ Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
⁷ REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal.
⁸ DiSTAS, Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29122 Piacenza, Italy.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences at Bisha, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 199, Bisha 61922, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36830039
PMCID: PMC9952696
DOI: 10.3390/antiox12020481

Review

The Chemical Variability, Nutraceutical Value, and Food-Industry and Cosmetic Applications of Citrus Plants: A Critical Review

Anis Ben Hsouna et al. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023.

. 2023 Feb 14;12(2):481.

doi: 10.3390/antiox12020481.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Biotechnology and Plant Improvement, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P "1177", Sfax 3018, Tunisia.
² Department of Environmental Sciences and Nutrition, Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology of Mahdia, University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia.
³ Madison, WI 53704, USA.
⁴ Department of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Split, R. Boškovića 35, HR-21000 Split, Croatia.
⁵ Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drug, Sapienza University, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁶ Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
⁷ REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal.
⁸ DiSTAS, Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29122 Piacenza, Italy.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences at Bisha, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 199, Bisha 61922, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36830039
PMCID: PMC9952696
DOI: 10.3390/antiox12020481

Abstract

Citrus fruits occupy an important position in the context of the fruit trade, considering that both fresh fruits and processed products are produced on a large scale. Citrus fruits are recognized as an essential component of the human diet, thanks to their high content of beneficial nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, terpenes, flavonoids, coumarins and dietary fibers. Among these, a wide range of positive biological activities are attributed to terpenes and flavonoids derivatives. In this review, a list of bibliographic reports (from 2015 onwards) on the phytochemical composition, beneficial effects and potential applications of citrus fruits and their by-products is systematically summarized. In detail, information regarding the nutraceutical and medicinal value closely linked to the presence of numerous bioactive metabolites and their growing use in the food industry and food packaging, also considering any technological strategies such as encapsulation to guarantee their stability over time, were evaluated. In addition, since citrus fruit, as well as its by-products, are interesting alternatives for the reformulation of natural cosmetic products, the sector of the cosmetic industry is also explored. More in-depth knowledge of the latest information in this field will contribute to future conscious use of citrus fruits.

Keywords: Citrus; chemical composition; industrial applications; nutraceutical values; orange peels.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Citrus-fruit wastes: seeds, pulp, pomace and peels.

**Figure 2**
By-products created as a result of industrial processing of citrus-fruit wastes.

**Figure 3**
Schematization of the process from waste citrus peels to purified spray-dried extracts (powders obtained with β-cyclodextrins on the right or pectins on the left, at different extract-to-carrier ratios, and example of a SEM observation), and to their incorporation into PLA (on the right) or PLA/PHB (on the left) films.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

1. Zhong G., Nicolosi E. Compendium of Plant Genomes. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 2020. Citrus origin, diffusion, and economic importance; pp. 5–21.
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The Chemical Variability, Nutraceutical Value, and Food-Industry and Cosmetic Applications of Citrus Plants: A Critical Review

Affiliations

The Chemical Variability, Nutraceutical Value, and Food-Industry and Cosmetic Applications of Citrus Plants: A Critical Review

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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