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Bergamot orange
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The bergamot (Citrus aurantium ssp. bergamia) is a small and roughly pear-shaped fragrant citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. Today it is also commercially grown in Calabria, Italy. Bergamot grows on small trees which blossom during the spring. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea, though the juice of the fruit has also been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine as an herbal remedy for malaria and its essential oil is popular in aromatherapy applications.
The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs of the same name, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family.
ian bergamotta, modification of Turkish bey armudu, literally, the bey's pear.
uction mostly is limited to the Ionian coastal region of the province of Calabria in Italy, to such an extent that it is a symbol of the entire region.
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Encyclopedia
The bergamot (Citrus aurantium ssp. bergamia) is a small and roughly pear-shaped fragrant citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. Today it is also commercially grown in Calabria, Italy. Bergamot grows on small trees which blossom during the spring. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea, though the juice of the fruit has also been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine as an herbal remedy for malaria and its essential oil is popular in aromatherapy applications.
The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs of the same name, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family.
Etymology
Italian bergamotta, modification of Turkish bey armudu, literally, the bey's pear.
Production
Production mostly is limited to the Ionian coastal region of the province of Calabria in Italy, to such an extent that it is a symbol of the entire region. Most of the bergamot comes from a short stretch of land where the temperature is favourable. In no other part of the world does it fructify with the same yield or quality; it is cultivated in Argentina, Brazil and the State of Georgia, but the quality of the obtained essence is not comparable with the essence produced from the bergamots of Reggio Calabria due to the argillite, limestone and alluvial deposits found there.
Uses
In food
An essence extracted from the aromatic skin of this sour fruit is used to flavour Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas, and confectionery. An Italian food manufacturer, Caffé Sicilia in Noto, Syracuse, Sicily, produces a commercial marmalade using the fruit as its principal ingredient. It is also popular in Greece as a preserve, made with bergamot peel boiled in sugar syrup.
As a scent
Bergamot peel is used in perfumery for its ability to combine with an array of scents to form a bouquet of aromas which complement each other. Approximately one third of all men's and about half of women’s perfumes contain bergamot essential oil. Bergamot was a component of the original Eau de Cologne developed in 17th century Germany - in 1704 the bergamot was first used to make the now famous "Eau de toilette" from the bergamot fruit by scooping out the pulp and squeezing the peel into sponges. 100 bergamot oranges will yield about 3 ounces of bergamot oil.
Bergamot peel is also used in aromatherapy to treat depression and as a digestive aid.
Companion plant
Bergamot's aromatic roots are thought to mask other nearby plants from pests that attack their roots, and so are sometimes grown as a companion in vegetable gardens.
Toxicology
In one study, oil of bergamot has been linked to certain phototoxic effects (due to the chemical bergaptene) and blocking the absorption of potassium in the intestines.
Bergamot is also a source of bergamottin which, along with the chemically related compound 6’,7’-dihydroxybergamottin, is believed to be responsible for the grapefruit juice effect in which the consumption of the juice affects the metabolism of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.
In sunscreens
In the past psoralen - extracted from bergamot oil - has been used in tanning accelerators and sunscreens. Psoralens penetrate the skin, where they increase the amount of direct DNA damage. This damage is responsible for sunburn and for an increased melanin production.
These substances were known to be photocarcinogenic since 1959,
but they were only banned from sunscreens in 1995.
These photocarcinogenic substances were banned years after they had caused many cases of malignant melanoma and deaths.
Psoralen is now used only in the treatment of certain skin disorders, as part of PUVA therapy.
Neuroprotective effects
Recently, bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.
Witchcraft
In hoodoo rootwork, bergamot is used to control or command, and for this reason is used in a variety of spells and formulas in which a practitioner might wish to subdue another person.
Footnotes
External links
- - possible therapeutic uses
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