Its fruit and leaves are used inSoutheast Asian cuisine, and itsessential oil is used in perfumery.[9] Its rind and crushed leaves emit an intense citrus fragrance.
The most likelyetymology is through theKaffirs, an ethnic group inSri Lanka partly descended from enslavedBantu.[10] The earliest known reference, under the alternative spelling "caffre" is in the 1888 bookThe Cultivated Oranges, Lemons Etc. of India and Ceylon byEmanuel Bonavia, who notes, "The plantationcoolies also smear it over their feet and legs, to keep off landleeches; and therefore in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] it has also got the name ofKudalu dchi, or Leech Lime. Europeans call it Caffre Lime."[10][11] Similarly, H.F. MacMillan's 1910 bookA Handbook of Tropical Gardening and Planting notes, "The 'Kaffir Lime' in Ceylon."[10][12]
Another proposed etymology is directly by Indian Muslims of the imported fruit from the non-Muslim lands to the east to "convey otherness and exotic provenance."[10] Claims that the name of the fruit derives directly from theSouth African ethnic slur "kaffir"(see "South Africa" below) are not well supported.[10]
C. hystrix is known by various names in its native areas:
jêruk purut inJavanese andlimau purut inMalay (respectively intoIndonesian andMalaysian) both meaning "warty/rough-skinned lime" due to the fruit's bumpy texture.[13][14]
Themicrantha, a similar citrus fruit native to the Philippines that is ancestral to several hybrid limes, such as theKey lime andPersian lime, may represent the same species asC. hystrix, but the genomic characterization of the kaffir lime has not been performed in sufficient detail to allow a definitive conclusion.[18]
In South Africa, the Arabickafir was adopted by White colonialists as "kaffir",[10] an ethnic slur for Black Africans.[19] Consequently, some authors favour "makrut lime", a less known name. In South Africa, it is usually referred to as "Thai lime".[20][21][22]
C. hystrix is a thorny shrub or small tree, 2 to 11 metres (6 to 35 ft) tall, with aromatic anddistinctively shaped "double" leaves.[23][24] These hourglass-shaped leaves comprise the leaf blade plus a flattened, leaf-like stalk (botanically, a wingedpetiole). The fruit is rough and green and ripens to yellow; it is distinguished by its bumpy exterior and small size, approximately 4 cm (2 in) wide.[24] The fruits have thick skins (pericarps) and taste very acidic and slightly bitter.[25] Flowers can have four to five petals that are white in color and are fragrant.[4]
Pierre Sonnerat (1748–1814) collected specimens of it in 1771–72, and it appears in Lamarck's Encyclopédie Méthodique (1796).[26][27]
Makrut lime appears in texts under the name of kaffir lime in 1868, in Ceylon, where rubbing the juice onto legs and socks prevents leech bites.[28] This could be a possible origin of the name leech lime.
The juice and rinds of the peel are used in traditional medicine in some Asian countries; the fruit's juice is often used in shampoo and is believed to kill head lice.[24]
The juice is used as a cleanser for clothing and hair in Thailand[30] and occasionally in Cambodia.Lustral water mixed with slices of the fruit is used in religious ceremonies in Cambodia.
Makrut lime oil is used as raw material in many fields, including pharmaceutical, agronomic, food, sanitary, cosmetic, and perfume industries. It is also used extensively in aromatherapy and as an essential ingredient in various cosmetic and beauty products.[37]
C. hystrix is grown worldwide in suitable climates as a garden shrub for home fruit production. It is well suited tocontainer gardens and for largegarden pots onpatios,terraces, and in conservatories.
The compound responsible for the characteristic aroma was identified as(–)-(S)-citronellal, which is contained in the leaf oil up to 80 percent; minor components includecitronellol (10 percent),nerol andlimonene.
From a stereochemical point of view, it is remarkable that makrut lime leaves contain only the (S)stereoisomer of citronellal, whereas itsenantiomer, (+)-(R)-citronellal is found in bothlemon balm and (to a lesser degree)lemon grass, (however, citronellal is only a trace component in the latter's essential oil).
Makrut lime fruit peel contains an essential oil comparable to lime fruit peel oil; its main components are limonene andβ-pinene.[9][38]
C. hystrix contains significant quantities offuranocoumarins, in both the peel and the pulp.[39] Furanocoumarins are known to causephytophotodermatitis,[40] a potentially severe skin inflammation. Cases of phytophotodermatitis induced by external use ofC. hystrix have been reported.[41]
.png)
.jpg)
_1.jpg)
