Updated 16 January 2024
Botanical characteristics
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Sapindales
- Family: Rutaceae
- Genus: Citrus
- Part used: Zest
- Country of origin: Italy, Argentina
Precautions for use
Lemon essential oil can be used by pregnant women over 3 months and by children, but not by babies.
Lemon essential oil is irritating to the skin and photosensitising, so should not be applied to the skin before exposure to the sun without dilution.
If you have gallstones, seek medical advice.
Finally, it is rich in allergenic components: it contains a large amount of limonene.
Other precautions
Warning:
- Seek medical advice in people with epilepsy: risk of convulsions at high doses.
Cutaneous application:
- Lemon essential oil is very aggressive. This pure essential oil should only be applied to the skin in exceptional cases and on small areas. On larger areas it should be diluted to 20% in vegetable oil (20% essential oil and 80% vegetable oil). It is photosensitising! Do not expose to the sun after application to the skin.
Ingestion:
- Lemon essential oil can be used by mouth for digestive problems. Seek medical advice if problems persist.
- Lemon essential oil can be nephrotoxic if taken in high doses over a long period of time.
Diffusion:
- Lemon essential oil can be used in air diffusers for babies.
Allergenic components:
Lemon essential oil contains high levels of biochemical allergenic components, including limonene.
- limonene (56-78%)
- neral + geranial (≤4%)
- linalool (≤0.2%)
- geraniol (≤0.1%)
Note: It is best to test the essential oil before use (two drops on the crease of the elbow for at least 24 hours to check for a reaction).
Authorised users
How to use
Risks of use
Properties
Lemon essential oil is highly concentrated in limonene, beta-pinene and gamma-terpinene.
These different molecules give it the following main properties:
- Antibacterial
- Hypolipidaemic
- Anti-nausea
- Vitamin P-like, anticoagulant
- Cholagogue, choleretic
But also these secondary properties:
- Anxiolytic
- Carminative
- Anti-infective
Indications
- Appetite suppressant
- Obesity
- Nausea
- Vomiting (children)
- Motion sickness
- Kidney stones
- Gallstones
- Cellulite
- Water retention
- Heavy legs
- Phlebitis
- Haemorrhoids
- Dyspepsia
- Diarrhoea
- Difficult digestion
- Hepatobiliary insufficiency
- Bad breath
- Greasy hair
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Asthenia
- Loss of concentration
Directions for use/usual dosage
- Infectious and contagious diseases (intestinal, pulmonary, etc.): as an unction on the affected area, diluted in a vegetable oil.
- Digestive, hepatic and pancreatic fatigue: as an unction diluted in vegetable oil or 1 drop in a spoonful of honey or vegetable oil.
- Obesity, slimming, cellulite, lymphatic drainage: as an unction diluted in vegetable oil or 1 drop in a spoonful of honey or vegetable oil.
- Prevention of epidemics and disinfection of premises: by air diffusion
- Skin care: applied locally, diluted in a suitable vegetable oil
Cosmetic
- Prevents skin ageing, ideal for wrinkled and mature skin
- Combination to oily skin, facial seborrhoea
- Problem skin: rashes, boils, warts, herpes, blackheads, spots, couperose
- Couperose, chilblains
- Strengthens brittle nails and reduces freckles thanks to its whitening properties
Cooking
- It goes well with many dishes and adds a touch of freshness.
- Can be used to flavour both sweet dishes (cakes, pancakes, gingerbread, jam, etc.) and savoury dishes (fish and seafood, tarts, exotic dishes, etc.).
- Ideal for adding a lemony note to a vegetable oil or sauce, for example to season a salad.
Interior use
- Used as a vapour to purify the air and prevent winter illnesses thanks to its antibacterial action.
Find out more
- Certain components of this essence (limonene, beta-pinene and gamma-terpinene) can mimic vitamin P and act as blood thinners. This increases tissue resistance and reduces capillary permeability. This effect on microcirculation is known to help prevent hypertensive diseases.
- Thanks to its biochemical components (limonene, beta-pinene and citral), lemon oil has recognised anti-infectious and antibacterial properties. It acts on gram and gram+ bacteria. It can be used to combat infectious diseases, prevent winter epidemics and disinfect the air.
- Lemon oil has choleretic and cholagogic properties, i.e. it helps the liver to produce more bile and to pass it more easily into the intestines.