Limonene

What is a Terpenes?

Terpenes are compounds of an aromatic nature found in hundreds plant species and foods this includes “Cannabis sativa”.

What is a Limonene?

D-limonene is one of the most common terpenes in nature thanks to its prevalence in the essential oils of citrus fruits including lemons. Once isolated, limonene is used in cleaners, perfumes, including agents for food.

Limonene is a terpene that also goes by the names ᴅ-limonene and ʟ-limonene.

What Aroma does limonene have

l-limonene and d-limonene has a prominent orange scent, provides a turpentine and pine like aroma.

They can also be found in

Orange, lemon, mandarin, lime, grapefruit, and juniper.

Limonene is it safe

Limonene has antibacterial and anti inflammatory agents there have been studies that suggest that limonene may have cardioprotective qualities which may protect the heart.

One such study for the “Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products in Israel” conducted a study using citrus oil in 2006, which concluded that a “mixture of citrus oil and MgCl₂ could be used as a anti-inflammatory agent and natural antibacterial .

Proinflammatory cytokines

A study published by Journal of Oleo Science, found strong evidence to suggest that limonene inhibited proinflammatory cytokines with this paper suggesting that ᴅ-limonene could be an anti-inflammatory.

Proinflammatory cytokines are a fundamental part of the body’s inflammatory response, too much buildup of these compounds can lead to instances of chronic inflammation.

Side effects and safety of Limonene

Limonene has been FDA approved in 1994 as a safe food additive. When assessing the toxicity of the compound, they found that it has “relatively low acute toxicity taken orally”. The only reported side effect was the risk of skin irritation after using limonene-infused shampoos, creams, or sprays.