Bergamot Byproducts: A Sustainable Source to Counteract Inflammation

Abstract

Chronic inflammation is the result of an acute inflammatory response that fails to eliminate the pathogenic agent or heal the tissue injury. The consequence of this failure lays the foundations to the onset of several chronic ailments, including skin disorders, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic syndrome, and, eventually, cancer. In this context, the long-term use of synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs to treat chronic illnesses cannot be tolerated by patients owing to the severe side effects. Based on this, the need for novel agents endowed with anti-inflammatory effects prompted to search potential candidates also within the plant kingdom, being recognized as a source of molecules currently employed in several therapeutical areas. Indeed, the ever-growing evidence on the anti-inflammatory properties of dietary polyphenols traced the route towards the study of flavonoid-rich sources, such as Citrus bergamia (bergamot) and its derivatives. Interestingly, the recent paradigm of the circular economy has promoted the valorization of Citrus fruit waste and, in regard to bergamot, it brought to light new evidence corroborating the anti-inflammatory potential of bergamot byproducts, thus increasing the scientific knowledge in this field. Therefore, this review aims to gather the latest literature supporting the beneficial role of both bergamot derivatives and waste products in different models of inflammatory-based diseases, thus highlighting the great potentiality of a waste re-evaluation perspective.

Keywords: Citrus bergamia; Citrus fruits; bergamot; byproducts; flavonoids; inflammation; natural products; polyphenols; waste valorization.

Figure 1

Path of bergamot processing from obtaining products with high economic interest to waste disposal. The waste valorization represents a great strategy both for recovery of compounds endowed with pharmacological properties and reduction of environmental disposal costs.

Figure 2

Main chemical composition of bergamot derivatives and byproducts. Bergamot juice is mostly characterized by flavonoids (i.e., naringin, neohesperidin, neoeriocitrin, melitidin and brutieridin), whereas bergamot seeds are characterized by limonoids (i.e., limonin and nomilin). Bergamot leaf oil is rich in monoterpenes (i.e., linalool, linalyl acetate and α-terpineol) and bergamot essential oil obtained from fruit peel is mainly composed of monoterpenes (i.e., limonene, linalool and linalyl acetate), coumarins (i.e., citropten) and psoralens (i.e., bergamottin and bergapten).

Figure 3

Radial map of the chemokines, enzymes and nuclear factors influenced by bergamot derivatives and byproducts.