iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Limonoids

Enlarge picture
Chemical structure of limonin
Limonoids are phytochemicals, abundant in citrus fruit and other plants of the classes Rutaceae and Meliaceae. They account for the scent of fresh lemon or orange peel. Many of the plants used in traditional healing, such as Neem, are rich in limonoids. Currently limonoids are under investigation for a wide variety of therapeutic effects such as antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, antineoplastic and antimalarial. They also show effectiveness as insecticides both in traditional farming cultures and modern biochemistry labs.

Chemically, the limonoids consist of variations of the furanolactone core structure. The prototypical structure consists of 4 six-membered rings and a furan ring. Limonoids are classed as tetranortriterpenes.

Citrus fruits contain the limonoids limonin, nomilin and nomilinic acid, while both neem seeds and leaves contain the limonoid azadirachtin, although higher concentrations are present in the former.
The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed.
Please see the relevant discussion on the .
Phytochemicals are plant or fruit derived chemical compounds. "Phytonutrients" refer to phytochemicals or compounds that come from edible plants.
..... Click the link for more information.
Citrus
L.

Species & major hybrids

Species
Citrus aurantifolia—Key lime
Citrus maxima—Pomelo
Citrus medica—Citron
Citrus reticulata—Mandarin & Tangerine

..... Click the link for more information.
Rutaceae
Juss., 1789

Type genus
Ruta
L.

Genera
About 160, totaling over 1600 species. See List of Rutaceae genera

Rutaceae
..... Click the link for more information.
Meliaceae
Juss.

Type genus
Melia
L.

Genera
See text.

The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants) in the order Sapindales,
..... Click the link for more information.
C. × limon

Binomial name
Citrus × limon
(L.) Burm.f.

The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a hybrid in cultivated wild plants.
..... Click the link for more information.
C. sinensis

Binomial name
Citrus sinensis
(L.) Osbeck

The orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus tree Citrus sinensis (syn. Citrus aurantium L.
..... Click the link for more information.
Neem (Azadirachta indica, syn. Melia azadirachta L., Antelaea azadirachta (L.) Adelb.) is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta
..... Click the link for more information.
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects in all developmental forms. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household.
..... Click the link for more information.
A furanolactone is a heterocyclic chemical compound that contains both a lactone and a furan ring structure. Examples include the hallucinogenic compound salvinorin A and the potential chemopreventive compound columbin.
..... Click the link for more information.
Furan, also known as furane and furfuran, is a heterocyclic organic compound. It is typically derived by the thermal decomposition of pentose-containing materials, cellolosic solids especially pine-wood.
..... Click the link for more information.
The tetranortriterpenoid class of chemical compounds most noted for the chemical azadirachtin, extracted from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) that displays insecticidal properties.
..... Click the link for more information.
Limonin is a limonoid, and a bitter, white, crystalline substance found in orange and lemon seeds. It is also known as limonoate D-ring-lactone and limonoic acid di-delta-lactone. Chemically, it is a member of the class of compounds known as furanolactones.
..... Click the link for more information.
Azadirachtin is a chemical compound belonging to the limonoids. It is a secondary metabolite present in the Neem tree seeds. The molecular formula is C35H44O16.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter