Progress in Research on Secondary Metabolites and Biological Activity of Medicinal and Edible Citrus Plants

Some citrus plants are important medicinal and edible plants. Fructus Aurantii, Fructus Aurantii Immaturus, finger citron, Zhique (the dried fruit of Citrus grandis × junos), Citri Grandis Exocarpium (the dried unripe or almost ripe exocarp of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ or C. grandis (L.) Osbeck and Guangchenpi (the dried pericarp of C. reticulata ‘Chachi’) are common medicinal and edible citrus plant products, rich in flavonoids, coumarins, alkaloids, limonoids and volatile oils and having a variety of biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, anti-depressant, antitussive and expectorant activities. They are widely used in the fields of health products, food and medicine. However, they have different bioactive components and clinical efficacies. Nowadays, their bioactive components and clinical efficacies have not been systematically summarized and compared. The bioactive components and bioactivities of these citrus products are systematically compared in this article, in order to provide a theoretical basis for further research and rational utilization of medicinal citrus plant resources.