What is limonene

It is also used in hospital laboratories when cleaning tissue samples for analysis. The l-limonene version has a more pine-like scent but is used mainly as a solvent in industrial cleaning products. Apart from these well-known uses, researchers now also believe limonene could be used as a dietary supplement to prevent cancer. It even turns up in some 3D printing processes. The good news is that limonene itself has low toxicity, which is why it is used so widely in food-grade products.

However, it can react with ozone, which is a common compound in the air. Though hazardous, the amounts of formaldehyde formed even in homes where a lot of cleaning products are used will be well below the safe levels established by the World Health Organisation WHO. Check out our guide to formaldehyde in indoor air if you want all the details. There have been some reported cases of skin sensitisation, but these have usually developed in those involved regularly with pure limonene in an industrial setting for paint preparation or degreasing machinery.

One of the positive aspects of using limonene in cleaning products is that it is a renewable product. Limonene is a useful compound and pleasant to smell.

More from Merriam-Webster on limonene Britannica. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Test your vocabulary with our question quiz! Love words? Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different.

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Nov. In lab rodents, limonene inhibited the growth of skin and mammary tumors. These studies were followed up with a Phase I human clinical trial which found that limonene was somewhat effective at reducing breast cancer tumor growth for nearly a year. Later studies found that daily limonene supplementation for weeks silenced a protein that promotes breast cancer tumor growth, suggesting that daily limonene consumption may inhibit the growth and spread of breast tumors.

Additional reports have revealed benefits of limonene in laboratory models of lung cancer and brain cancer by causing tumor cell death. The enhancing power of limonene enables it to be used as a carrier for other ingredients that are unable to cross the layers of skin and natural oils that form the skin barrier, alone. In fact, limonene and other terpenes are used to improve transdermal drug delivery since they reduce skin barrier resistance with low irritancy potential compared to some other drug delivery systems.

Essential oils that contain limonene, such as orange peel oil, are also being studied for other potential benefits. According to the new research published in The Journal of Cancer Research , limonene may be beneficial in helping to support cancer treatments. Monoterpenes have presented evidence to be effective chemopreventive agents against tumor growth. It is important to note that this research is relatively new and requires more investigation before it can be used alongside current cancer therapies.

Studies on limonene have demonstrated that this ingredient may have the ability to reduce inflammation. As Healthline discussed in their article on limonene the potential anti-inflammatory benefits may help prevent damage in the body.

One way limonene may reduce inflammation is through the inhibition of angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels, which is an inherent component of inflammation.

Thus, by inhibiting this process, limonene may help to reduce inflammation and potentially improve wound healing. It has also been demonstrated in some studies that terpenes from essential oils, such as limonene, are able to suppress the production of tumor necrosis alpha TNF and interleukin-6 IL-6 , both being major pro-inflammatory cytokines.