Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies such as Ayurveda have advocated the use of lime as valuable food and nutrition advice for treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.
Is there any scientific evidence that backs this age-old treatment?
Limonoids, is the constituent which causes of bitterness in citrus juice, and has previously been reported to possess substantial antioxidant and anticancer activities.
A 2013 complementary medicine research study by Boshtam et al studied the antioxidant activity and atherosclerosis progression in rabbits using the antioxidant rich lime peel. The study revealed that the presence of fatty streaks in coronary arteries and aorta of the treated animals (lime juice peel) were significantly reduced compared to the hypercholesterolemic control group.
Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) peel and juice is known to increase plasma antioxidant capacity in rabbits, and also reduces the process of atherogenesis. However, lime peel was shown to be more effective than lime juice. This observation may be due to the fact that lime peel and juice have different types of flavonoids. For example, hesperidin, naringenin and eriocitrin are found in lime juice, whilst polymethoxylated flavones (PMF), limonoid, and diosmin are found in the peel.
The higher ascorbic acid content of fresh lime juice results in significantly higher serum antioxidant capacity than lime peel, but the latter caused significantly more reductions in fatty streak grade in rabbits. The researchers concluded that this difference may be related to the effects and absorption of each type of flavonoid.
Whilst this research study has only been carried out in rabbits, there is an indication that the age old Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapeutic advice may be useful in the acute treatment of hypercholesterolameia. It goes without saying that this food and nutrition advice is only a treatment component in the integrative healthcare solution for the treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.
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