Bergamot orange pear" or "prince of pears"). "Citrus bergamia" is a small tree that blossoms during the winter. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. The active ingredients in bergamot juice are neoeriocitrin, naringin, neohesperidin, ponceritin, melitidin, and mitrocin and 0.69% miriflin with 0% moisture brutieridin. Melitidin and brutieridin, only recently discovered, exist only in citrus bergamot and exhibit statin-like properties. Synephrine is not present in citrus bergamot. The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs known as bergamot or wild bergamot, "Monarda didyma" and "Monarda fistulosa", which are in the mint family, and are named for
Bergamot essential oil directly to the skin via a patch test, followed by exposure to ultraviolet light, a concentration-dependent phototoxic effect is observed. However, if the oil is twice rectified (and therefore bergapten-free), no phototoxic response is observed. The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) restricts the use of bergamot essential oil due to its phototoxic effects. Specifically, IFRA recommends that leave-on skin products be limited to 0.4% bergamot oil, which is more restrictive than any other citrus-based essential oil. Although generally recognized as safe for human consumption, bergamot essential oil contains a significant amount of bergamottin, one of two furanocoumarins believed to be responsible