Bergamot: Citrus bergamia. Perennial plant, very similar to orange, but with a smaller and inedible fruit (hesperidium); it is cultivated to mechanically extract the homonymous essence from the exocarp, which is widely used in the perfume industry.
Bergamot essential oil is made up of compounds of a terpenic nature, but also of a compound of a coumarin nature, bergapten, which determines - following prolonged topical use - a certain toxicity, especially of a carcinogenic nature; carcinogenicity is triggered by the photosensitivity of the compound. Therefore, the bergamot plants have been genetically selected in order to cultivate only those that produce fruits with a low or no content of coumarins. To protect the consumer, there is a regulation that determines the maximum concentration of bergapten in the " essential oil (<5 parts per liter).
Other articles on "Bergamot essential oil"
- Bitter orange essential oil
- Pharmacognosy
- Lemon essential oil