LEMON - essential oil

The origin of the lemon is unknown, though lemons are thought to have first grown in Assam (northeast India), northern Burma or China. A study of the genetic origin of the lemon reported it to be hybrid between bitter orange (sour orange) and citron. Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the first century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD.

The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150AD.

Health benefits
• Asthma
• Insomnia
• Stress, fatigue, anxiety, nervous tension
• Carminative: indigestion, hyper-acidity, cramps
• Reduces fever: eg malaria, typhoid
• Immune system stimulant: increases white blood cells (WBCs)
• Increases mental alertness
• Astringent
• Antioxidant
• Increases blood circulation