Virucidal Activity of Essential Oils From Citrus x aurantium L. Against Influenza A Virus H1N1:Limonene as a Potential Household Disinfectant Against Virus

Abstract

This work explored the compositions of a crude extract of peels of Citrus x aurantium using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. The crude extract of peels of C. × aurantium was analyzed by GC-MS revealing the presence of limonene as the major compound, accounting for 93.7% of the total. Virucidal activity of the oil of C. x aurantium peels against influenza A virus H1N1 was evaluated by the ASTM E1053-20 method. Moreover, the virucidal activity was also investigated of D-limonene, the major terpene in essential oils of C. x aurantium, and its enantiomer L-limonene. The essential oil of the C. x aurantium peels produced a log reduction of 1.9 to 2.0, accounting for 99% reduction of the virus, while D- and L-limonene exhibited virucidal activity with a log reduction of 3.70 to 4.32 at concentrations of 125 and 250.0 µg/mL, thus reducing the virus by 99.99%. Previous work found that D-limonene exhibited antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus, but L-limonene, an enantiomer of D-limonene, has never been reported for antiviral activity. This work demonstrates the antiviral activity of L-limonene for the first time. Moreover, this work suggests that concentrations of 0.0125% to 0.025% of either D- or L-limonene can possibly be used as a disinfectant against viruses, probably in the form of essential oil sprays, which may be useful disinfectants against the airborne transmission of viruses, such as influenza and COVID-19.

Investigation of the Genotoxicological Profile of Aqueous Betula pendula Extracts

“…With respect to the cytotoxicity of limonene, Rabi and Bishayee [ 51 ] demonstrated the apoptotic effect of limonene in DU-145 prostate cancer cells but not in normal epithelial prostate PZ-HPV-7 cells. According to a recent study, both D- and L-limonene exerted antiviral activity against influenza A virus H1N1 [ 52 ]. In vivo assays for limonene are contradictory, as it seems to inhibit the appearance of liver and gastric tumors in mice [ 50 , 53 ] but Turner et al [ 18 ] found that limonene induced kidney and bladder tumors in male rats.…”

Effects of Essential Oils and Hydrolates on the Infectivity of Murine Norovirus

“…Limonene is the ingredient found most commonly in both lemon essential oil and hydrosol, and it has antimicrobial and antifungal activity against many foodborne pathogens. However, to date, there are still few studies investigating the antiviral properties of limonene, none of which involve enteric viruses [ 14 , 45 , 46 ]. In one study, the effect of C. limon at 0.5% against hepatitis A virus (HAV) infectivity showed a statistically significant reduction of 2.84 log TCID 50 /mL in HAV titer [ 18 ].…”

“…Limonene d-limonene and lemon essential oil were found to have antimicrobial activities against foodborne bacterial and fungal pathogens [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. However, few studies have investigated the antiviral properties of limonene and lemon essential oil [ 14 , 18 , 45 , 46 ].…”

GC/MS Analysis, Cytotoxicity, and Antiviral Activities of Annona glabra Hexane Extract Supported by In Silico Study

“…Moreover, Maqian essential oils showed promising antiviral activities owing to the presence of L-limonene and D-limonene [ 38 ]. Essential Oils from Citrus Aurantium L. have virucidal activity against Influenza A Virus H1N1 due to the presence of D- and L-limonene, which may be employed as an efficient disinfectant against viruses [ 39 ]. Monoterpenes beta-pinene and limonene have been reported to show antiherpetic activity and might be used as powerful antiviral agents in recurrent herpes infections [ 40 ].…”