Red mandarin (Citrus reticulata)

Red mandarin (Citrus reticulata)

Updated 16 January 2024

Botanical characteristics

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Division: Magnoliophyta 
  • Class: Magnoliopsida 
  • Order: Sapindales
  • Family: Rutaceae
  • Genus: Citrus
  • Part used: Zest
  • Country of origin: Brazil, Italy

Precautions for use

Red mandarin essential oil is authorised for adults, children over 3 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women.

All routes of application are possible, but precautions should be taken when applied to the skin: due to the presence of large amounts of terpenes, the essential oil is dermocaustic when applied undiluted.

There is also a risk of nephrotoxicity if taken in high doses over a long period of time.

As for diffusion, it is a form of use authorised for everyone, including pregnant women under 3 months old and babies.

Other precautions

Warning:

  • Always seek medical advice before using red mandarin essential oil for people with asthma.
  • For babies, it can be used in diluted form on the skin and ingested under medical supervision.

Cutaneous use:

  • Red mandarin essential oil is irritating and dermocaustic in its pure form, so it should be diluted to 20% in vegetable oil before application to the skin (20% essential oil in 80% vegetable oil). Apply only very locally.

Diffusion:

  • This form of use is authorised for babies.

Contraindications:

  • Mandarin essential oil is not recommended for people with gallstones.
  • Mandarin essential oil should not be used in high doses and for long periods of time because of the risk of nephrotoxicity.

Allergenic components:

Mandarin essential oil contains high levels of allergenic biochemicals:

  • limonene (65-75%)
  • linalool (≤ 0.5%)
  • citral (geranial + neral) (≤ 0.2%)
  • citronellol (≤ 0.2%)
  • geraniol (≤ 0,2%)

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

 Adults and adolescents

  Children under 6 years

 Pregnant and breastfeeding women

 Pregnant women younger than 3 months

 Infants under 3 years old

How to use

 Inhalation
 Cutaneous
 Oral
 Diffusion

Risks of use

 Allergic

 Cortisone-like

 Skin irritation

 Pure Dermocautic

 Photosensitiser

Properties

  • Calms the sympathetic nervous system and moderates the central nervous system: relaxant, sedative, hypnotic
  • Antiseptic 
  • Antispasmodic 
  • Mild antifungal 
  • Venous and lymphatic stimulant 
  • Digestive tonic: carminative, mild laxative 

Indications

Directions for use/usual dosage

  • Restlessness, nervousness, insomnia: Apply to the inside of the wrists, solar plexus, under the soles of the feet and/or diffuse into the air before bed to promote a good night's sleep, or during the day to promote relaxation and inner calm.
  • Skin problems: Apply topically diluted in a vegetable oil or mixed with other EOs.
  • Constipation, digestive problems: apply topically to the affected area, pure or diluted in a vegetable oil.

Cosmetic

  •  Ideal for dry skin
  •  Helps reduce cellulite and stretch marks

Cooking

  • Season both savoury and sweet dishes, whether for an original tabbouleh, a marinade or to flavour cakes, pancakes and other sweet treats.

Interior use

  • Wafts a pleasant fragrance throughout the home to relax the atmosphere.

Find out more

Red, yellow or green mandarins? These are not different varieties, but the same botanical species, Citrus reticulata. In early autumn, the pericarp of the mandarin, which is rich in chlorophyll, turns green. As winter progresses and the temperature difference between day and night increases, the chlorophyll decreases and the mandarin turns yellow and then orange. Red mandarins are picked in Sicily in January.