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Ancient to Recent Skin Care in Turkish Cypriots:
Bitter-Orange Blossom Water
Aslı Feride Kaptanoğlu,1* MD, Dudu Özkum,2PhD, Elvan Ada,3PhD
Address: 1Near East University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Lefkosa, North
Cyprus; 2Near East University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Botany, Lefkosa, North Cyprus; 3Architecture
of Landscape, İstanbul, Turkey
E-mail: dr.aslikaptanoglu@gmail.com
* Corresponding Author: Dr. Aslı F. Kaptanoğlu, Department of Dermatology, Near East University Hospital, Lefkosa,
Mersin-10, Turkey
Review DOI: 10.6003/jtad.1261r1
Published:
J Turk Acad Dermatol 2012; 6 (1): 1261r1.
This article is available from: http://www.jtad.org/2012/1/jtad1261r1.pdf
Key Words: Cyprus, phytoterapy, folk-medicine, herbal medicine, cosmetic, bitter-orange, blossom
Abstract
Background: Traditional remedies are important parts of folk-medicine and culture. The most
common area of use of such remedies are skin diseases and cosmetic. Natural ingredients, mostly
the herbal products, have been used since ancient times in topical creams and lotions. Different
traditional remedies has been observed in different ethnic cultures and geographic settings.
Here we report, bitter-orange blossom water - shortly called as “blossom water”- which is used for
skin cleaning and refreshing in Cyprus for many decades, for the first time. Recently, this traditional
knowledge about home-made blossom water is transmitted orally as a part of folk heritage and
gaining interest with the increasing popularity of phytotherapeutics. Such kind of remedies give
clues for phytotherapeutical approaches which are deeply researched and developed nowadays.
Introduction
Traditional remedies are important parts of
folk medicine and culture that should be
transferred to new generations as a cultural
heritage. The history of cosmetics used for
skin care is as old as ancient times [1]. There
are many reports about the traditional reme-
dies used for cosmetic purposes all around
the world [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. As traditional app-
lications are a sum of knowledge coming from
many years' experience and different obser-
vers' eyes, some plant-based remedies pro-
duce a base for researchers and may give a
rough idea about its effects on human body.
Today, more than 25% of recent medical
pharmacopoeia is derived from herbs [8]. Mo-
reover, there are innovations about natural
ingredients and their use in skin care [9, 10].
According to World Health Organization
(WHO) about 80% of people in developing co-
untries employ traditional herbal medicine
[11]. So, it is very important to be aware of
the common used remedies while practicing
as a physician. Also, it is worthy to report and
share the local knowledge to encourage stu-
dies which will produce evidence for scientific
developments.
No detailed investigation has been published
so far, therefore it was the aim of the present
study to report bitter-orange blossom water -
shortly called as “blossom water”- which is
used for skin cleaning and refreshing in
Cyprus for many decades. To the best of
these authors’ knowledge, this is the first re-
port on this subject. Recently, this traditional
knowledge about home-made blossom water
is transmitted orally as a part of folk heritage
Page 1 of 5
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and gaining interest with the increasing po-
pularity of phytotherapeutics.
Bitter-Orange Blossom Water
Cyprus is a Mediterranean island located on
the 34.33º - 35.41º North and 32.23º - 34.55º
East. Island for many centuries is strongly
bound to their traditions. One of these tradi-
tions is using “blossom water” in their daily
life. As well as its use as a flavoring aromatic
agent in some sweets in the local kitchen, its
main usage is as a daily cleansing lotion and
refreshing tonic by women. Even though
there are many commercially available cos-
metics and cleansers in the market, blossom
water is still a “must” for skin care in every
home. Most women prepare this water by
themselves at home and give as a gift to ne-
ighbours and relatives. There are also com-
mercial home made products on the markets
(Figure 1). Is a clear, colorless, and agreeably
aromatic liquid, having a typical odor [12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19].
Preparation
The preparation of blossom water is as fol-
lows: the blossom flowers of bitter orange tree
are distilled with a local distillation device cal-
led as “imbik”. After 2-3 times of purification,
the water is filtered through a thin cloth. 500
ml blossom water is obtained from 1 kg flo-
wers of bitter orange tree as reported by Lar-
dos and oral survey with local indigenous
people [20]. The water is then bottled with
glass bottles and stored in a cool place, away
from direct sunlight.
Bitter-Orange Tree (Citrus aurantium L.)
The bitter orange tree is native to eastern Af-
rica and tropical Asia. Today, it is grown thro-
ughout the Mediterranean region. It is a
member of Rutaceae family [21, 22] and have
similar properties with other Citrus Sp. Citrus
aurantium L. (common name is bitter orange)
is a small tree, round crowned, regularly
branched, 5m high or more. Their leaves are
elliptic, acute, more or less keeled, and 7-10
cm long. From late spring to summer, bears
fragrant white flowers (2 cm across), single or
in pairs or clusters from the leaf axis. Those
flowers are followed by red-tinted orange
spherical fruits, 5-8cm across [23, 24, 25].
The heavily scented flowers of this tree ‘Bou-
quet de fleurs’ (=bouquet of flowers) are used
in perfumes [26]. This tree has similar pro-
perties with orange and lemon trees, but as
the lemon and orange flowers will become
fruits, it is not preferred to collect the flowers
of orange and lemon trees. Commercially, Cit-
rus is the most important genus. Many spe-
cies are sources of essential oils of use in
perfumery and medicine [27]. The family is
especially rich in secondary metabolites of
potential, if not acutal, bio-dynamic activity.
These include ethereal oils, a variety of alka-
loids, amides, occasional cyanogenic compo-
unds, several types of coumarins, flavonoids,
aromatic acids, poly-phenols and tannins,
lignans, tetra-cyclic triterpenes, limonoids, a
variety of terpenes as well as saponins [28,
29]. Aside from the well known chemical con-
tributions of the genus as sources of essential
oils, vitamins, pigments, etc., the chemistry
of bitter-orange is similar to that of the family
as a whole. The worldwide uses of Citrus are
as antiseptic, aperitif, narcotic, nervine, se-
dative, scurvy, stomachic, tonic and also has
antioxidant activity [22, 29, 30, 31]. The
peels of bitter orange are used in the formu-
lation of herbal teas due to the peels’ flavor
profiles [32], their digestive and carminative
effects, and for the production of stomachic,
carminative, and laxative products [22, 31,
J Turk Acad Dermatol 2012; 6 (1): 1161r1. http://www.jtad.org/2012/1/jtad1261r1.pdf
Page 2 of 5
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Figure 1. Bitter-orange blossom water
33]. The bitter orange fruits and peels have a
bitter taste, so it is not used as food and the
dried fruit and peel (and sometimes flowers
and leaves) are taken by orally in extracts,
tablets, and capsules forms. The extract of
bitter orange (and bitter orange peel) has die-
tary supplements as an aid to fat loss and an
appetite suppressant. Bitter orange contains
the tyramine metabolites N-metyltyramine,
octapamine and synephrine, substances si-
milar to epinephrine. Bitter orange has been
used also for nausea, indigestion and consti-
pation. Current uses of bitter orange are for
heartburn, loss of appetite, nasal congestion
and weight loss. Flowers of bitter orange pre-
pared as a syrup act as a sedative in nervous
disorders and induce sleep [34, 35]. It is also
applied to the skin for fungal infections such
as ringworm and athlete’s foot.
The use of herbal remedies has wide area of
use. Because they are natural products—
some with a long tradition of use—many pe-
ople consider them safe and side-effect free.
But in the literature there are many reports
of allergic reactions to herbal medicine [36,
37]. Moreover, they may manifest potential
adverse effects and drug interactions. Herbal
remedies (phytomedicines) may have signifi-
cant biological activity and pharmacologic ef-
ficacy, even applied topically [38]. Also, some
phytochemicals may act as photosensitizers
and may cause sun burns or pigmentation
abnormalities if used during sun exposure
[39, 40, 41]. In 1926 Oppenheim and in 1928
Fessler used the descriptive term “ phytopho-
todermatitis” to define dermatitis caused by
contact with a plant or plant extract and sub-
sequent exposure to sunlight. The following
researchs in the detail revealed that furocou-
marins in plants are responsible for this con-
dition. Moracea (Ficus carica, Fig), Umbelliferea
(e.g. Angelica archangelica, Angelica; Apium
dulce, Celery) and Rutacea (Citrus bergamia,
bergamot) are most important plant families to
contain furocoumarins [42]. Citrus bergamia
is well known to have photosensitizing effects
and used for some therapeutic interventions
[43]. Oil of bitter orange, which is also mem-
ber of Rutacea family, used on the skin may
increase the risk of sunburn because of its
coumarin ingredients, particularly in light
skinned people. Izumi reported phytophoto-
dermatitis caused by Zamon which is fruit of
Citrus maxima, a member of Rutacea family
as well [44]. Also in a study conducted in a
perfume factory showed occurence of contact
dermatitis with essential oils, especially with
bitter orange oil [27].
Bitter orange flower oil is obtained by steam
distillation from the fresh flowers of C. auran-
tium [45], called as “neroli” and widely used
as flavours and fragrances in the food, per-
fume, cosmetic industries and aromatherapy
products [27]. Bitter orange oil from the tree’s
leaves is called petitgrain, oil from the flowers
is called neroli and water from flowers is called
blossom-water. Peel oils are mainly composed
of a volatile fraction consisting of terpene
hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivati-
ves, and of a non-volatile fraction including
waxes and pigments [46].
Much of the current interest in bitter orange
has been a result of numerous articles in the
media, many of which have focused on the
fact that bitter orange has become the pri-
mary substitute ingredient for ephedra in ep-
hedra-free products. Very recently, Citrus
aurantium (bitter orange) extract and its prin-
cipal protoalkaloidal constituent p-syneph-
rine is reported to be safe in weight loss and
weight management as well as in sports per-
formance products [47]. Many herbal weight-
loss products now use concentrated extracts
of bitter orange peel in place of ephedra [48].
Besides the worldwide uses of extract and oil
of bitter orange itself, there is no reports
about the topical use of water obtained from
its blossoms as a skin cleaning and refres-
hing agent. Although the traditional extrac-
tion and distillation techniques used to
obtain both oil and water of blossom are si-
milar, due to the effect of the process para-
meters, the component of blossom water
might be more diluted than oil. In our litera-
ture search, we did not find any report about
the benefits of use, side effects or contrindi-
cations of the blossom-water, although it is
used for skin cleaning and refreshing in
Cyprus for many decades. This lack of know-
ledge may be either related with not to be
aware of the effects of natural remedies on
skin conditions or the real beneficial effects
of blossom-water on skin. More research is
needed to determine the benefits, limits and
possible side effects of these ethnic cosmetic.
Page 3 of 5
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J Turk Acad Dermatol 2012; 6 (1): 1261r1. http://www.jtad.org/2012/1/jtad1261r1.pdf
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