Hesperidin Simply Explained

1. What It Is About

Hesperidin is a plant substance that occurs mainly in citrus fruits. Particularly large amounts are found in the peel and the white membranes of oranges, grapefruits and lemons. It is also contained in juices, although the amount varies depending on the variety, degree of ripeness and processing. During juice production many peels accumulate from which hesperidin is obtained. When hesperidin is ingested it is converted in the intestine. This produces hesperetin, another form of the substance. This is absorbed by the body and can then act throughout the body. The original hesperidin reaches the blood unchanged only to a small extent. In studies, therefore, the conversion products in the blood are usually measured or their effect on certain body values. Research focuses primarily on three areas: metabolism, the cardiovascular system and inflammatory processes in the body.

2. What Studies Show

The effects on blood pressure are the best studied. In a study with 159 people with mildly elevated blood pressure the participants drank orange juice with high hesperidin content daily for 12 weeks. The upper blood pressure value decreased, and after longer intake the lower value also decreased. The effect was stronger the more hesperidin the juice contained 3. Another study with 24 overweight men aged 50 to 65 years showed that orange juice or a hesperidin-containing drink daily over 4 weeks lowered the lower blood pressure 1. In people with type 2 diabetes daily intake of hesperidin over 6 weeks led to lower systolic blood pressure and fewer inflammatory markers in the blood. At the same time the body’s ability to scavenge harmful oxygen compounds increased 6. Another study with 49 patients with metabolic syndrome – a combination of overweight, high blood glucose and blood lipid levels – showed that hesperidin twice daily over 12 weeks lowered fasting blood glucose, triglycerides (blood lipids), systolic blood pressure and an inflammatory marker 5. In 64 diabetes patients hesperidin also reduced damage to genetic material and oxidation of fats in the blood 2. In a study with 68 overweight but healthy people blood vessel function improved after a high-fat meal when hesperidin had been taken beforehand 4. However many of these studies examined not hesperidin alone but mixtures with other plant substances or orange juice. The observed effects therefore cannot always be attributed unequivocally to hesperidin alone.

3. What Remains Unclear

Most studies measured intermediate values, for example blood pressure or inflammatory markers in the blood. Whether hesperidin also prevents diseases such as heart attack or stroke in the long term has not been clarified. Studies lasting many years that directly examine whether participants’ health improves are lacking. The correct amount is also unclear: the studies used very different doses. Whether the effect comes directly from hesperidin or from its conversion products is likewise open. In many studies hesperidin was combined with other substances, for example with diosmin, a related plant substance. It is then impossible to say which share is attributable to hesperidin alone. In addition absorption in the body varies greatly from person to person. How hesperidin works exactly and whether it acts similarly in healthy people as in sick people has not yet been sufficiently researched.

4. What This Means in Everyday Life

Hesperidin is a well-studied plant substance from citrus fruits. The indications that it can lower blood pressure and dampen inflammation are fairly consistent, especially in people with type 2 diabetes, overweight or metabolic syndrome. These results, however, come from short studies with small to medium participant numbers. They show that certain measured values improve – not that disease risk is automatically reduced as a result. Anyone interested in hesperidin should know that it occurs naturally in citrus fruits and juices but is also offered as a food supplement. Whether and in what amount a supplement is useful cannot be deduced from the studies conducted so far. The next important question researchers want to clarify is whether hesperidin actually reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the long term. Until then the significance of the observed changes remains open.

All Details with Study Numbers and Sources: detailed page on Hesperidin. For Children: Hesperidin for Children.