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Herb library · Spice · Citrus sinensis

Orange peel (sweet orange)

The dried outer peel of the ordinary sweet orange, used in teas, baking and spice blends. The oil pressed from the peel gives orange its smell, and a few small trials found that breathing it in eased anxiety in stressful moments. The dried peel itself has been studied only in labs and animals.

Traditional use

Dried orange peel is a common flavoring in teas, cakes, marmalades and spice rubs, and orange peel oil scents foods, cleaners and perfumes. Aromatherapists use sweet orange oil as a calming scent, and the trials below tested that use.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Anxiety, from the scent of the peel oil: in a dental waiting room study (72 patients), women exposed to orange scent reported less anxiety and a calmer mood; in a lab study of 40 men, inhaling sweet orange oil kept anxiety from rising during a stressful test; and in a Brazilian trial of 84 women in labor, inhaling the oil lowered pain and anxiety scores against water. The trials are small and blinding a scent is hard.

  • Insufficient

    Blood sugar, inflammation and other effects of the dried peel or its extracts come from lab and animal studies; no trial of orange peel itself in people was found.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteThe trials used the oil as a scent, a few drops on a pad or in a diffuser. Do not swallow essential oil.
  • InteractionBitter (Seville) orange is not the same plant: the FDA says it might interact with medicines the way grapefruit does (bitter orange has its own entry). Check which orange a product contains.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

Sources

  1. Ambient odor of orange in a dental office reduces anxiety and improves mood in female patients (Physiol Behav, 2000) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Effect of sweet orange aroma on experimental anxiety in humans (J Altern Complement Med, 2012) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Effectiveness of aromatherapy with sweet orange oil (Citrus sinensis L.) in relieving pain and anxiety during labor (Explore (NY), 2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Grapefruit Juice and Some Drugs Don't Mix (FDA Consumer Update) (opens in a new tab) · FDA · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.