Lemon

Lemon (Citrus limon) is a citrus fruit whose peel yields an essential oil used in food, pharmaceutical, and fragrance applications.[1]

Healing Properties

Antimicrobial

Natural Preservative

Essential oil derived from Citrus limon peels exhibits bactericidal activity against Leuconostoc mesenteroides MS1, a heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium responsible for spoilage of vacuum-packed Vienna sausages.[2]

  • The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Citrus limon essential oil against Leuconostoc mesenteroides MS1 fall in the ranges of 0.64–1.87 mg/mL and 0.76–2.41 mg/mL, respectively.[2:1]
  • While Citrus limon essential oil is an effective bactericide, Leuconostoc mesenteroides MS1 is more sensitive to Aloysia polystachya, Laurus nobilis, and Eucalyptus cinerea essential oils and pure ®-(−)-carvone, due to its high limonene content, which is a less potent antimicrobial compound compared to carvone.[2:2]
  • Citrus limon essential oil has been found effective against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157, and Campylobacter jejuni.[2:3]

Disease / Symptom Treatment

Kidney Stones

Lemon Juice can prevent kidney stones.


  1. Study Type: Animal Study, Commentary, Human Study: In Vitro - In Vivo - In Silico, Human: Case Report, Meta Analysis, Review
    Title:
    Author(s):
    Institution(s):
    Publication:
    Date:
    Abstract:
    Link: Source
    Citations: ↩︎

  2. Title: Evaluation of essential oils from Aloysia polystachya, Citrus limon, Eucalyptus cinerea, and Laurus nobilis, and ®-(−)-carvone as natural preservatives in Vienna sausages
    Publication: Flavour and Fragrance Journal
    Date: 2025
    Study Type: Human Study: In Vitro
    Author(s): M. A. Serra, A. del L. Quiberoni, A. E. Andreatta
    Institutions: Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Facultad Regional San Francisco, San Francisco, Córdoba, Argentina; Instituto de Lactología Industrial, Universidad Nacional del Litoral — CONICET, Santa Fe, Argentina ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎