Nutritional value and pharmacological importance of citrus species grown in Iraq

Abstract

Citrus fruits contained many phytochemicals including essential oils, alkaloids, flavonoids, coumarins, psoralens, carotenoids with a wide range of nutritional components including vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The previous pharmacological studies revealed that citrus fruits possessed antimicrobial, anthelmintic, insect repellent, antioxidant, anticancer, cardiovascular, central nervous, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antidiabetic, reproductive, gastrointestinal, immunological, respiratory and many other pharmacological effects. This review was designed to highlight the chemical constituents, nutritional value and pharmacological activities of citrus fruits.