Lime essential oil is another one of those great citrus oils that smells amazing and has great benefits. So let's learn all about lime essential oil and its properties, benefits, and uses.
Pros: Lime essential oil is anti-cancer, antioxidant and antimicrobial.
Cons: Unfortunately, lime essential oil is very phototoxic so it shouldn't be used on your skin.
Precautions: Always check with your doctor before using this or any essential oil.
Properties of Lime Essential Oil
It's always great to know about the color, smell and what's in an essential oil before you buy it. Here we'll look at the properties of lime essential oil.
NameThe lime we're talking about here is the West Indian or Mexican lime which we commonly call key lime. Its botanical name is Citrus aurantifolia.
You may also see the botanical name Citrus latifolia. This is actually Persian lime. And the essential oil from this type has similar compounds when compared to key lime but the compositions may vary.
Key lime's botanical name is also close to several citrus varieties. For example, lemon is Citrus limon; sweet orange is Citrus sinensis and grapefruit is Citrus paradisi.
That's why it's so important to verify the botanical name for the oil you're looking to purchase.
Color & ScentLime essential oil typically has a very pale yellow to very light green color. And it has the typical fresh, sharp, citrusy smell.
CompoundsThere are quite a few useful compounds in (key) lime essential oil. In fact, the oil contains limonene (which makes up 40-95% of the oil), followed by gamma-terpinene, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and sabinene.
Traces of p-cymene, myrcene, terpinolene, alpha-bisabolene, trans-R-bergamotene, germacrene D, geranial, neral, and linalool can also be found in samples of lime oil.
Lime Essential Oil Benefits
The compounds mentioned above add to the many lime essential oil benefits. Let's look at a few of these benefits below.
1. It is anti-cancer
There are many essential oils that have anti-cancer benefits and lime is one of them.
A 2009 study demonstrated these benefits. It tested lime oil on human colon cancer cells. And the results showed that at very low concentrations (in the order of 100 micrograms per milliliter), lime essential oil inhibited the cancer cells by as much as 78% within 48 hours!
That's incredible, right? But remember that in vitro tests are not as complex as the human body so while lime essential oil has exhibited anti-cancer effects, these effects may not be clinically evident.
2. It is antioxidant
Again just like many citrus oils, lime essential oil has antioxidant benefits. And this 2012 study provides the proof.
The study tested and compared the antioxidant capacity of three citrus oils: lime, bitter orange and bergamot. The results showed lime essential oil had the highest free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity among the tested oils.
This is pretty amazing since antioxidants neutralize free radicals which can damage your cells, cause wrinkles, and maybe even cancer.
3. Lime oil is antibacterial
A 2006 study tested the antibacterial activity of 21 plant essential oils including aniseed, camphor, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, geranium, lemon, lime, orange and rosemary.
The study identified lime as one of the stronger antibacterial essential oils in the study since it inhibited both types of bacteria (gram-positive and gram-negative) under investigation.
4. It is anti-fungal
Lime oil is an incredibly powerful anti-fungal agent. And this 2009 study clearly and explicitly proves these lime essential oil benefits.
The study tested the essential oil of 12 medicinal plants including caraway, orange, neem, spearmint, thyme and tarragon on the fungi species: Aspergillus parasiticus. This fungi is known to contaminate food and produce compounds called aflatoxins, which are toxic and considered one of the most carcinogenic substances!
Believe it or not, thyme and lime essential oils exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects against both A. parasiticus and aflatoxin production.
Isn't lime oil impressive?
5. It is insecticidal
A 2001 study examined the effects of sweet orange and lime oils on several insect species like mosquitoes, cockroaches and houseflies. The study showed that both oils had insecticidal activity and the activity was better an hour after spraying the area (versus 30 minutes after spraying).
So you can add a few drops of lime essential oil to your DIY insect spray to keep mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies, and other pesky bugs away.
6. It kills ticks and mites
Here's one last lime essential oil benefit – it is an acaricide, meaning it can kill ticks and mites. And there's actually proof of this claim.
A 2004 study looked at the acaricidal effects of 56 essential oils on poultry mites. The study found 13 oils including bay, cinnamon, coriander and lime killed all the mites at extremely low concentrations. And it seemed the essential oils' vapors were enough to inhibit the mites!
Uses of Lime Essential Oil
The benefits of lime oil are awesome. So now let's take a look at a few uses of lime essential oil.
InhalingHey, if you love a sharp, citrusy smell, then add 2-3 drops of lime oil to your diffuser or to a tissue. It'll definitely brighten up your space.
You can also add a few drops of lemon essential oil too since it may help you with anxiety, nervousness, nausea and more.
Besides lemon, lime blends well with all other citrus oils as well as bay, clary sage, lavender, neroli and rosemary.
MassagingSo I really don't recommend using lime essential oil on your skin. Actually, no one does and if you find someone that says it's ok to use this oil on your skin, ran away… ran far away!
Lime essential oil is a very potent photo-sensitizer, which means it can give you a very bad burn when exposed to sunlight.
By the way, lime juice is also a photo-sensitizer and this buzzfeed roundup gives you some graphic pics of what happens when you mix lime juice, skin and sun. It's scary! And that's just the juice ... not the highly concentrated essential oil!
So DO NOT use this oil on your skin!
More PrecautionsAlways check with your doctor before using lime essential oil especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or suffer from any specific conditions.
Please be careful when handling this essential oil. And use gloves if necessary!
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