A 2020 research study looked at the effects of the flavonoids in lemon peel on battling fatigue and oxidation. The study by Chinese researchers, published in the journal Applied Biological Chemistry (volume 63), used mice for who were fed lemon peel flavonoids (LPF) as they exercised.
LPF contains a range of flavonoids, and the study did not differentiate between them. They include:
- rutin,
- astragalin,
- isomangiferin,
- naringin,
- and quercetin.
As the body exercises, it accumulates certain compounds that are described as metabolic waste. At the same time, it is depleting the body of biochemical nutrients, and causing a number of other changes.
- The mice who were given LPF were able to swim for a significantly longer time than those who did not;
- Levels of compounds in the blood that indicated oxidative stress decreased significantly for those given LPF;
- The LPF appeared to remove the metabolic waste caused by extended periods of exercise;
- The more they got, the bigger the effect;
As the study noted, even in China, where lemons are used in a wide variety of ways, including the pulp and juice in foods, the lemon leaves for spice, seeds and peels sometimes for oils, the vast majority of lemon peels are typically discarded as waste.
Using, and continuing to study, their great potential for nutrition and beyond to medical treatments, can only be beneficial.
The researchers note, “The flavonoids in food exert certain anti-oxidation, anti-fatigue, and anti-aging effects, which can also enhance exercise capacity and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.”
Most other anti-fatigue treatments contain stimulants of one kind or another. Treatment with LPF would be a much less potentially harmful alternative.
As the study concludes, “Our study also confirmed that these plant flavonoids are multi-functional, as LPF acts as both an antioxidant and an anti-fatigue agent.”
