Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) as a source of alkaloids: A review

Abstract

In this review their alkaloids in sweet orange are discussed since ialkaloids are a large iclass of chemical compoundsi that are iderived from secondary metabolism and have the most significant attribute of any chemical compound in the world: the presencei of basicinitrogen atoms atiany point on the moleculei. Citrus sinensisi(orange) is commonly grownifor its fruit, which is both nutritious andimedicinal. Plants are responsible for producing numerous metabolites that have different physiological properties. The most researchedimetabolites areiphytochemicals, which are primarily secondaryimetabolites generated from plants and are characterized by a variety of structures, quantities, locations and activities, even in the same species. The consumption of citrus fruit has been demonstrated to be beneficial to human health due to the antioxidanti, ianti-inflammatory,icancer-fighting, protective cardiovascular and neurological properties of secondary metabolites in citrus fruit. Citrus fruits can be considered as a source of alkaloids and the most important biologically active constituents of the C.sinensis fruits are phenethylamine alkaloids (i.e. ioctopamine, isynephrine, ityramine, iN-methyltyramine and ihordenine).  This review focuses on the alkaloids present in the sweet orange, their chemical structure, biosynthesis, pharmacological activities, and extraction methods.