10 uses for lemons From whitening laundry to keeping insects away, here are 10 uses for lemons around

the house.

By
Stephanie Rogers Wed, May 16 2012 at 1:45 PM

Related Topics:
Green Cleaning

Photo: Susan McKenzie/Shutterstock

Clean greasy dishes Lemon juice is extremely effective on grease. Squeeze it onto tough messes, including crusted, bakedon foods, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, make a paste with some baking soda and a little more lemon juice and scrub away the gunk. As a dish cleaner Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and / or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains. Why Clean With Lemons? Smell The citrus smell of a lemon is refreshing and invigorating. For many people a lemon smell has come to symbolize cleanliness. Most major cleaners on the market today have a lemon or a citrus scented version for consumers to enjoy.

Acid Lemons are acidic and can provide some antibacterial and antiseptic properties for cleaning.

3) Wash your dishes

When you run out of washing up liquid, slice a lemon in half, sprinkle baking soda on top, and use the lemon half like a dish cloth to wash your dishes. The citric acid will cut through, loosen and then dissolve grease, giving your pots and pans a shiny glow. Oh, and your hands will smell lemony fresh too! To deodorise your dishwasher, place a cup of lemon juice in the bottom of an emptied-out dishwasher, and then run the rinse cycle. The lemon will deodorise and disinfect the dishwasher.

because on the pH scale lemon juice show it is more stronger than vinegar.

The pH of the lemon juice is 2,3 (because of cirtic acid (53,3 g/l) and malic acid(3,5 g/l)) and The pH of table vinegar ranges from 2.4 to 3.4. That's why lemon seems stronger.

Low pH

One of the primary chemical properties of lemon juice is its low pH. With a highly acidic pH level of 2, lemon juice lies just below stomach acid on the pH scale. Lemon juice's high acidity means that it has a high concentration of hydrogen ions. Like other acidic substances, lemon juice is sour and can corrode metals. Its corrosive properties make it a useful ingredient in cleaning products, because it softens the minerals in hard water, allowing the cleaning agents to work more effectively.

Source of Vitamin C

Lemon juice contains high levels of vitamin C. On average, lemons contain about twice as much vitamin C as oranges. Physicians first discovered this characteristic of lemons in the seventeenth century, when they found that consuming lemon juice every day could prevent outbreaks of scurvy. However, the high levels of vitamin C in lemon juice are lost if the juice is left exposed to the air for a long period of time.

Antimicrobial Properties

Research suggests that lemon juice also has certain antimicrobial properties. Studies indicate that lemon juice can stop the growth of aspergillus mold, and lemon juice has been used to disinfect drinking water and deactivate the rabies virus. This property of lemon juice seems to be tied to its citric acid content, which can break down the cell membranes of bacteria.

Study Antimicrobial Activity of Lemon (Citrus lemon L.) Peel Extract Maruti J. Dhanavade, Chidamber B. Jalkute, Jai S. Ghosh and Kailash D. Sonawane Department of Microbiology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur-416004, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: The main objective of the study is extraction, identification of antimicrobial compounds and demonstration of antimicrobial activity of lemon (Citrus lemon L.)peel against bacteria. As microorganism are becoming resistant to present day antibiotics, our study focuses on antimicrobial activity and future prophylactic potential of the lemon peel. Biologically active compounds present in the medicinal plants have always been of great interest to scientists. The peel of citrusfruits is a rich source of flavanones and many polymethoxylated flavones, which are very rare in other plants. These compounds, not only play an important physiological and ecological role, but are also of commercial interest because of their multitude of applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The citrus peel oils show strong antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity has been checked in terms of MIC by using different solvents against microorganisms like Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCIM 2036 for which MIC was 1:20 in presence of methanol, for Salmonella typhimurium NCIM 5021 the observed MIC was 1:20 in presence of acetone. In case of Micrococcus aureus NCIM 5021 the observed MIC was 1:20 when ethanol was used as solvent. The compounds like coumarin and tetrazene were identified by GC/MS of lemon peel extract. Key words: Antimicrobial, coumarin, lemon, prophylaxis, tetrazene INTRODUCTION Even though pharmacological industries have produced a number of new antibiotics in the last three decades, resistance to these drugs by microorganisms has increased. In general, bacteria have the genetic ability to transmit and acquire resistance to drugs, which are

utilized as therapeutic agents (Gislene et al., 2000). For a long period of time, plants have been a valuable source of natural products for maintaining human health. The use of plant extracts and phytochemicals, both with known antimicrobial properties, can be of great significance in therapeutic treatments (Seenivasan et al., 2006). Many plants have been used because of their antimicrobial traits, which are due to compounds synthesized in the secondary metabolism of the plant. These products are known by their active substances e.g. the phenolic compounds which are part of the essential oils, as well as tannin (Tyagi and Malik, 2010). Essential oils are more effective in controlling biofilm cultures due to their better diffusibility and mode of contact (Al-Shuneigat et al., 2005). Hence the essential oils and other extracts of plants have evoked interest as sources of natural products. They have been screened for their potential uses as alternative remedies for the treatment of many infectious diseases (Tepe et al., 2004; Dorman and Deans, 2000). Lemon is an important medicinal plant of the family Rutaceae. It is cultivated mainly for its alkaloids, which are having anticancer activities and the antibacterial potential in crude extracts of different parts (viz., leaves, stem, root and flower) of Lemon against clinically significant bacterial strains has been reported

(Kawaii et al., 2000). Citrus flavonoids have a large spectrum of biological activity including antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, anticancer and antiviral activities (Burt, 2004; Ortuno et al., 2006). Flavonoids can function as direct antioxidants and free radical scavengers, and have the capacity to modulate enzymatic activities and inhibit cell proliferation (Duthie and Crozier, 2000). In plants, they appear to play a defensive role against invading pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and viruses (Sohn et al., 2004). Flavonoids are generally present in glycosylated forms in plants, and the sugar moiety is an important factor determining their bioavailability. Preparation from peel, flowers and leaves of bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) are popularly used in order to minimize central nervous system disorders (Pultrini et al., 2006).The peel of Citrus fruits is a rich source of flavonoid glycosides, coumarins, $ and (- sitosterol, glycosides and volatile oils (Shahnah et al., 2007). Many polymethoxylated flavones have several important bioactivities, which are very
Lemons are rich in nutrients, contain minerals, vitamins A, B, B2, P, C and phytoncides. The rind of lemons is rich in essential oils. Citrus fruits are ideal for the treatment of vitamin deficiency, gastrointestinal diseases, atherosclerosis, scurvy, angina and hypertension. Lemon juice can clean your face of freckles and pigmentation and visibly rejuvenates you. One hour after application, do not go out in the sun. If you have migraines, drop a few drops of lemon juice and rub it into your temples.

In cold, drink lemon juice with honey and gargle with a mixture of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and warm water. Insect bite itches will go away if the place is brushed with lemon juice. Start your day with a cup of hot water with lemon juice, it increases immunity and cleans toxins. To extract more juice from a lemon, roll it on the table a few seconds or immerse for 10 seconds in a bowl of hot water. To choose a ripe lemon, look at the of color its his skin - it should be bright yellow or light orange. If there are spots, it's not scary the lemon inside is perfect.