Limau purut (Citrus hystrix)
Common names
-Limau purut, limau hantu, limau suwangi (Malay)
-Kaffir lime (English)
-Ma feng gan, mao li qiu si ku cheng, ma feng cheng, ma feng mao gan fatt-fung-kam, thai-ko-kam (Chinese)
-kolumichai (Tamil)
Descriptions
-a small tree, often not straight, crooked with glabrous and spiny branches
-leaves are alternate, unifoliolate, broadly ovate to ovate-oblong, dark green on top, lighter on the bottom, very fragrant with long petiole expanded into
prominent wings, and each leaf comes in two parts, seemingly a double leaf
-Flowers are small, fragrant, white; calyx cuspidate 4-lobed, white with violet fringe; petals 4–5, ovate-oblong, yellowish white tinged with pink
-fruit is large, verrucose, warty or bumpy, globose, ovoid to elliptic, green turning yellowish-green when ripe, rind thick, pulp yellowish, very acid and bitter with wrinkle on the surface of fruit
-seeds are numerous, ridged, ovoid-oblong, 1.5–1.8 by 1–1.2 cm, monoembryonic with white cotyledons
Chemical constituents
Leaves:
By ethanol extract: phenolic acids (p-coumaric acid, m-coumaric acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, sinapic acid, vanillic acid)
​
By mixture of methanol and dimethyl sulphoxide (1:1) extract: flavanone glycosides(narirutin-4'-glucoside (naringenin-7-rutinoside-4'-glucoside), eriocitrin (eriodictyol-7-rutinoside), neoeriocitrin (eriodictyol-7-neohesperidoside), narirutin (naringenin-7-rutinoside), hesperidin (hesperetin-7-rutinoside), neohesperidin (hesperetin-7-neohesperidoside), didymin (isosakurenetin-7-rutinoside)
​
By aqueous methanol (1.2M HCl in 50% MeOH) extracts was found to contain flavonoids (quercetin, luteolin)
​
By methanol extract: glyceroglycolipids(e.g. 1,2-di-O-α-linolenoyl-3-O-β-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol, 1-O-α-linolenoyl-2-O-palmitoyl-3-O-β galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol), flavanone glycosides (hesperidine, neohesperidine) and furanocoumarin (oxypeucedanin hydrate)
Others: monoterpenoids (α-pinene, β-pinene, β-myrcene, camphene, sabinene, α-terpineol, p-cymene, terpinolene, α-terpinolene), sesquiterpenoids (eugenol, calamenene, α-copaene, α-humulene, α-muurolene, cis-α-farnesene, β-cubebene, β-eudesmol, α-curcumene, cumene), diterpenoids (phytol, isophytol)
Traditional uses
-
can promote gum health and can be used for brushing teeth
Fruit: juice
-
used for seasoning and to prepare drinks
-
used to treat insect bites and stomachache related to dyspepsia
-
used for washing hair
-
add flavour in cuisine
-
to soften the skin or to control body odor
Fruit: juice
-rubbed onto the skin
-mixed with bath water
Preparation/ part of plants used
Leaves