REVIEW article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1598545
From waste to health: exploring the male sexuality enhancing activities of the bioactive components of orange peel
Provisionally accepted
- 1Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Ila Orangun, Nigeria
- 2University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria
- 3wesley university, ondo, Nigeria
- 4University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Large amounts of citrus wastes, especially orange peels, are produced globally, and they are an environmental menace in different parts of the world because of their perishability. However, various research findings have shown that orange peels are a rich source of vitamins, fibers, phenols, and other bioactive compounds. This makes orange peel a promising therapeutic option for managing various disease conditions. Despite these health benefits, only about 10% of orange peel produced as waste is recycled and reused. Hence, the review was designed to explore the beneficial roles of orange peel bioactive compounds on male sexual function. This review, therefore, explore the aphrodisiac effect of orange peel bioactive compounds by reviewing recent publications that detail the association of orange peel bioactive compounds with male sexual functions regarding its potential roles in erectile function regulation, testosterone levels, and semen characteristics. Bioactive compounds from orange peel contributed positively to sexual and erectile functions. This was mediated via a hormonal-dependent mechanism and upregulation of steroidogenic enzymatic activities. It also improves endothelial functions by stimulating the secretion and release of nitric oxide, which is important for erection. Furthermore, it acts by mediating the activities of monoamine neurotransmitters, which are responsible for the motor activities involved in sexual function. Orange peel bioactive compounds enhance male sexual functions via multiple pathways. Hence, orange peels offer great potential for developing functional food products with health and economic benefits.
Keywords: antioxidant, Citrus peel, Erectile Dysfunction, Flavonoids, phenolic compounds, traditional medicine
Received: 23 Mar 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Odetayo, Bassey, Adeyemi and Olayaki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adeyemi Odetayo, Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Ila Orangun, Nigeria
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.