Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), of the Rutaceae family. Thorny evergreen tree with fragrant white flowers and rough-skinned sour fruit; native range: Southeast Asia; carried by Arab traders to the Mediterranean. Globally recognized as nagaranga in Sanskrit, khatta · narangi in Hindi, zhi shi (枳实) / zhi ke (枳壳) in Chinese, naranj in Arabic, and Seville orange in English. The part used is immature fruit (zhi shi), near-ripe fruit / peel (zhi ke), rind, flowers. Hard green immature fruits, intensely bitter and sour; the ripe rind is rough, aromatic, and bitter, the pulp too sour to eat; the flowers give the sweet scent of neroli.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BITTER ORANGE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- bitter orange
- Scientific name
- Citrus aurantium L.
- Family
- Rutaceae
Form
- Part used
- immature fruit (zhi shi), near-ripe fruit / peel (zhi ke), rind, flowers
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter, pungent, slightly sour
- Ayurveda
- fruit: sour (amla) · peel: bitter · pungent
- Western
- bitter, aromatic
- Unani
- sour (fruit), bitter (peel)
Temperature
- TCM
- cool (slightly)
- Ayurveda
- heating (the sour fruit; the peel milder)
- Western
- warming (peel), cooling (juice)
- Unani
- cold (the pulp); the peel hot & dry
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Large Intestine
- Western
- stomach · digestion · nervous system
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- breaks up stagnant qi, reduces accumulation and distension, resolves phlegm, moves the bowels (zhi shi strong, zhi ke mild)
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana, rochana (appetiser), the peel vata-kaphahara and carminative
- Western
- bitter tonic, stomachic, carminative; the flowers (neroli) mildly sedative
- Unani
- kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), muqawwi-e-meda (stomach tonic), mufarrih (exhilarant, from the flowers and peel)
Cautions
Contraindications: weak spleen qi without stagnation; pregnancy (zhi shi is strongly moving)
Toxicity: the fruit is safe as food and medicine; concentrated synephrine extracts (weight-loss products) may strain the heart and raise blood pressure
Interactions
- Western
- MAO inhibitors: synephrine/octopamine risk of hypertensive crisis · stimulants: additive cardiovascular stimulation
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