Lime (fruit)

A lime (from French lime, from Arabic līma, from Persian līmū, "lemon"),[1] is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.[2]

For other uses, see Lime (disambiguation).
Lime and blossom
Kaffir lime fruit
Zesting a lime
Lime (Citrus latifolia) essential oil

There are several species of citrus trees whose fruits are called limes, including the Key lime (Citrus aurantiifolia), Persian lime, kaffir lime, and desert lime. Limes are a rich source of vitamin C, are sour, and are often used to accent the flavours of foods and beverages. They are grown year-round.[3] Plants with fruit called "limes" have diverse genetic origins; limes do not form a monophyletic group.

Plants known as "lime"

The difficulty in identifying exactly which species of fruit are called lime in different parts of the English-speaking world (and the same problem applies to homonyms in other European languages) is increased by the botanical complexity of the citrus genus itself, to which the majority of limes belong. Species of this genus hybridise readily, and it is only recently that genetic studies have started to shed light on the structure of the genus. The majority of cultivated species are in reality hybrids, produced from the citron (Citrus medica), the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), the pomelo (Citrus maxima) and in particular with many lime varieties, the micrantha (Citrus hystrix var. micrantha).

Note that the tree species known in Britain as lime trees (Tilia sp.), called linden in other dialects of English, are broadleaf temperate plants unrelated to the citrus fruits.

History
Main article: Citrus § History
Lime (and lemon) production, 2018
Country Production
(millions of tonnes)
 India3.1
 Mexico2.5
 China2.5
 Argentina2.0
 Brazil1.5
 Turkey1.1
World19.4
Nutrition of limes, raw
Limes, whole and in cross section
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy126 kJ (30 kcal)
10.5 g
Sugars1.7 g
Dietary fiber2.8 g
0.2 g
0.7 g
VitaminsQuantity %DV†
Thiamine (B1)
3%
0.03 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
2%
0.02 mg
Niacin (B3)
1%
0.2 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
4%
0.217 mg
Vitamin B6
4%
0.046 mg
Folate (B9)
2%
8 μg
Vitamin C
35%
29.1 mg
MineralsQuantity %DV†
Calcium
3%
33 mg
Iron
5%
0.6 mg
Magnesium
2%
6 mg
Phosphorus
3%
18 mg
Potassium
2%
102 mg
Sodium
0%
2 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water88.3 g
Full Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA FoodData Central

Most species and hybrids of citrus plants called "limes" have varying origins within tropical Southeast Asia and South Asia. They were spread throughout the world via migration and trade. The kaffir lime, in particular, was one of the earliest citrus fruits introduced to other parts of the world by humans. They were spread into Micronesia and Polynesia via the Austronesian expansion (c. 3000–1500 BCE), as well as into India, Persia, and the Mediterranean region via the spice trade and the incense trade routes from as early as ~1200 BCE.[10][2]

To prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus, such as lemon, and later switched to lime.[11] The use of citrus was initially a closely guarded military secret, as scurvy was a common scourge of various national navies, and the ability to remain at sea for lengthy periods without contracting the disorder was a huge benefit for the military. British sailors thus acquired the nickname "Limey" because of their use of limes.[12]

Production

In 2018, world production of limes (combined with lemons for reporting) was 19.4 million tonnes.[13] The top producers – India, Mexico, China, Argentina, Brazil, and Turkey – collectively accounted for 65% of global production (table).[13]

Uses

Limes have higher contents of sugars and acids than lemons do.[2] Lime juice may be squeezed from fresh limes, or purchased in bottles in both unsweetened and sweetened varieties. Lime juice is used to make limeade, and as an ingredient (typically as sour mix) in many cocktails.

Lime pickles are an integral part of Indian cuisine. South Indian cuisine is heavily based on lime; having either lemon pickle or lime pickle is considered an essential of Onam Sadhya.

In cooking, lime is valued both for the acidity of its juice and the floral aroma of its zest. It is a common ingredient in authentic Mexican, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. Lime soup is a traditional dish from the Mexican state of Yucatan. It is also used for its pickling properties in ceviche. Some guacamole recipes call for lime juice.

The use of dried limes (called black lime or loomi) as a flavouring is typical of Persian cuisine and Iraqi cuisine, as well as in Persian Gulf-style baharat (a spice mixture that is also called kabsa or kebsa).

Lime is an ingredient of many cuisines from India, and many varieties of pickles are made, e.g. sweetened lime pickle, salted pickle, and lime chutney.

Key lime gives the character flavoring to the American dessert known as Key lime pie. In Australia, desert lime is used for making marmalade.

Lime is an ingredient in several highball cocktails, often based on gin, such as gin and tonic, the gimlet and the Rickey. Freshly squeezed lime juice is also considered a key ingredient in margaritas, although sometimes lemon juice is substituted. It is also intimately associated with many rum cocktails such as the Daiquiri, and tropical drinks - especially within the Tiki culture.

Lime extracts and lime essential oils are frequently used in perfumes, cleaning products, and aromatherapy.

Nutrition and phytochemicals

Raw limes are 88% water, 10% carbohydrates and less than 1% each of fat and protein (table). Only vitamin C content at 35% of the Daily Value (DV) per 100 g serving is significant for nutrition, with other nutrients present in low DV amounts (table). Lime juice contains slightly less citric acid than lemon juice (about 47 g/l), nearly twice the citric acid of grapefruit juice, and about five times the amount of citric acid found in orange juice.[14]

Lime pulp and peel contain diverse phytochemicals, including polyphenols and terpenes,[15] many of which are under basic research for their potential properties in humans.[16]

Toxicity

Contact with lime peel or lime juice followed by exposure to ultraviolet light may lead to phytophotodermatitis,[17][18][19] which is sometimes called margarita photodermatitis[20][21] or lime disease[22] (not to be confused with Lyme disease). Bartenders handling limes and other citrus fruits while preparing cocktails may develop phytophotodermatitis.[23]

A class of organic chemical compounds called furanocoumarins are reported to cause phytophotodermatitis in humans.[24] Limes contain numerous furanocoumarin compounds, including limettin (also called citropten), bergapten, isopimpinellin, xanthotoxin (also called methoxsalen), and psoralen.[25][26] Bergapten appears to be the primary furanocoumarin compound responsible for lime-induced phytophotodermatitis.[25][26]

Lime peel contains higher concentrations of furanocoumarins than lime pulp (by one or two orders of magnitude),[25][26] and so lime peels are considerably more phototoxic than lime pulp. Persian limes appear to be more phototoxic than Key limes.[25]

See also

References
  1. Company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: lime". www.ahdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.
  2. "Lime". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  3. Rotter, Ben. "Fruit Data: Yield, Sugar, Acidity, Tannin". Improved Winemaking. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. Plattner, Kristy (26 September 2014). "Fresh-Market Limes" (PDF). USDA Economic Research Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2015.
  5. Curk, Franck; Ancillo, Gema; Garcia-Lor, Andres; Luro, François; Perrier, Xavier; Jacquemoud-Collet, Jean-Pierre; Navarro, Luis; Ollitrault, Patrick (2014). "Next generation haplotyping to decipher nuclear genomic interspecific admixture in Citrus species: analysis of chromosome 2". BMC Genetics. 15: 152. doi:10.1186/s12863-014-0152-1. PMC 4302129. PMID 25544367.
  6. Li, Xiaomeng; Xie, Rangjin; Lu, Zhenhua; Zhou, Zhiqin (July 2010). "The Origin of Cultivated Citrus as Inferred from Internal Transcribed Spacer and Chloroplast DNA Sequence and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Fingerprints". Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 135 (4): 341–350. doi:10.21273/JASHS.135.4.341. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. Wall, Tim (18 January 2011). "Citrus Fruit Gets Paternity Test". Discovery.com. Discovery. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. Tacio, Henrylito D. "Health benefits of calamansi". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  9. "Australian Blood Lime". homecitrusgrowers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012.
  10. Wu GA, Terol J, Ibanez V, López-García A, Pérez-Román E, Borredá C, Domingo C, Tadeo FR, Carbonell-Caballero J, Alonso R, Curk F, Du D, Ollitrault P, Roose ML, Dopazo J, Gmitter FG, Rokhsar DS, Talon M (February 2018). "Genomics of the origin and evolution of Citrus". Nature. 554 (7692): 311–316. Bibcode:2018Natur.554..311W. doi:10.1038/nature25447. PMID 29414943.
  11. Lewis, HE (3 February 1971). "State of knowledge about scurvy". Proc. R. Soc. Med. 65 (1): 39–42. PMC 1644345. PMID 4552518.
  12. "Limey". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  13. "World production of lemons and limes in 2018; Crops/Regions/World/Production Quantity from pick lists". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT). 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  14. Penniston KL, Nakada SY, Holmes RP, Assimos DG (2008). "Quantitative Assessment of Citric Acid in Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, and Commercially-Available Fruit Juice Products". Journal of Endourology. 22 (3): 567–70. doi:10.1089/end.2007.0304. PMC 2637791. PMID 18290732.
  15. Loizzo MR, Tundis R, Bonesi M, Menichini F, De Luca D, Colica C, Menichini F (2012). "Evaluation of Citrus aurantifolia peel and leaves extracts for their chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activities". J Sci Food Agric. 92 (15): 2960–67. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5708. PMID 22589172.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  16. Patil JR, Chidambara Murthy KN, Jayaprakasha GK, Chetti MB, Patil BS (2009). "Bioactive compounds from Mexican lime ( Citrus aurantifolia ) juice induce apoptosis in human pancreatic cells". J Agric Food Chem. 57 (22): 10933–42. doi:10.1021/jf901718u. PMID 19919125.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  17. Gross, T. P.; Ratner, L.; de Rodriguez, O.; Farrel, K. P.; Israel, E. (1987). "An outbreak of phototoxic dermatitis due to limes". Am J Epidemiol. 125 (3): 509–514. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114557. PMID 3812457.
  18. Kung, A. C.; Stephens, M. B.; Darling, T (2009). "Phytophotodermatitis: Bulla formation and hyperpigmentation during spring break" (PDF). Mil. Med. 174 (6): 657–661. doi:10.7205/MILMED-D-01-7208. PMID 19585784.
  19. Hankinson, Andrew; Lloyd, Benjamin; Alweis, Richard (2014). "Lime-induced phytophotodermatitis". J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 4 (4): 25090. doi:10.3402/jchimp.v4.25090. PMC 4185147. PMID 25317269.
  20. Riahi, Ryan R.; Cohen, Philip R.; Robinson, Floyd W.; Gray, James M. (June 2009). "What Caused The Rash On This Man's Wrist And Hand?". The Dermatologist. 11 (6).
  21. Abramowitz, Alan I.; Resnik, Kenneth S.; Cohen, Kenneth R. (1993). "Margarita Photodermatitis". New England Journal of Medicine. 328 (12): 891. doi:10.1056/NEJM199303253281220. PMID 8441448.
  22. Weber, Ian C; Davis, Charles P; Greeson, David M (1999). "Phytophotodermatitis: The other 'lime' disease". The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 17 (2): 235–237. doi:10.1016/s0736-4679(98)00159-0. ISSN 0736-4679. PMID 10195477.
  23. L. Kanerva (2000). Handbook of Occupational Dermatology. Springer. p. 318. ISBN 978-3-540-64046-2. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016.
  24. McGovern, Thomas W.; Barkley, Theodore M. (2000). "Botanical Dermatology". The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology. Internet Dermatology Society. 37 (5). Section Phytophotodermatitis. doi:10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x. PMID 9620476. S2CID 221810453. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  25. Nigg, H. N.; Nordby, H. E.; Beier, R. C.; Dillman, A.; Macias, C.; Hansen, R. C. (1993). "Phototoxic coumarins in limes" (PDF). Food Chem Toxicol. 31 (5): 331–35. doi:10.1016/0278-6915(93)90187-4. PMID 8505017.
  26. Wagner, A. M.; Wu, J. J.; Hansen, R. C.; Nigg, H. N.; Beiere, R. C. (2002). "Bullous phytophotodermatitis associated with high natural concentrations of furanocoumarins in limes". Am J Contact Dermat. 13 (1): 10–14. doi:10.1053/ajcd.2002.29948. ISSN 0891-5849. PMID 11887098.
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