Kumquat has been used by the Chinese as food and medicine for thousands of years. It is also a symbol of prosperity and usually offered as gift to relatives and friends. This presentation is posted as gift to all my followers and friends in the social media, Recent studies showed that Kumquat has many properties beneficial for health.

1. LUNAR CHINESE NEW YEAR
JANUARY 22, 2023
MY GIFT TO 14,233 FOLLOWERS
KUMQUAT
CITRUS JAPONICA
By
Kevin KF Ng, MD, PhD.
Former Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Clinical Pharmacology
University of Miami, Miami, FL., USA
Email: kevinng68@gmail.com
A Slide Presentation for HealthCare Providers Jan 18, 2023

2. Lunar Chinese New Year Jan 22, 2023
Year of the Rabbit

3. Presentation Outline
▪ What is a kumquat?
▪ History
▪ Production
▪ Nutrients
▪ Phytochemicals
▪ Scientific studies
▪ Commercial products
▪ Summary

4. What is a kumquat?
▪ The name Kumquat comes from the Chinese Cantonese
word ‘kamkwat’ (金橘), which means “golden orangene”
▪ It is a round or oval bright orange-yellow fruit, about 2.5
cm (1 inch) in diameter, with mildly acid juicy pulp and
a sweet, edible, pulpy skin.
▪ The peel is thin and sweeter than the pulp; kumquats
are usually eaten whole

5. • ORIGIN
• CULTIVATION

6. Origin of Kumquat
▪ The kumquat plant is native to Southern China.
▪ The earliest historical reference to kumquats appears
in Imperial literature from the 12th century.
▪ Kumquat was introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert
Fortune, collector for the London Horticultural
Society, and shortly thereafter was taken to North
America
▪ Kumquat is now cultivated in other parts of East Asia
(Japan and Taiwan), South Asia (India), and Southeast
Asia (especially the Philippines).

7. Countries where Kamquat is now cultivated
•

8. Important cultivated kumquat species
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/kumquats

9. 8 Kumquat Varieties
https://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/blogs/four-winds-growing/8-great-kumquat-varieties

10. Nagami (oval) Kumquat Tree growing zone in US
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/nagamikumquat

11. • SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
• SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

12. Citrus taxonomy of Kumquat
http://citruspages.free.fr/classification.php#today

13. Scientific classification of kumquat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat#Propagation_and_pollination

14. Other names for kumquat in Asian countries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat#Propagation_and_pollination

15. Number of publications on “Kumquat” in PubMed from
1945 to 2022
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=kumquat%2C

16. • NUTRIENT COMPOSITION
• BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS

17. Structural composition of citrus.
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/6/1069/htm

18. Chemical composition of kumquat fruit

19. Nutritional value of kumquat per 100 g (3.5 oz)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat#Propagation_and_pollination

20. Major phytochemical compounds in Kumquat
Adapted from https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/kumquat-fruit.html

21. Reported pharmacological activities of Kumquat
▪ Antioxidant activity
▪ Antimicrobial activity
▪ Anti-inflammatory activity
▪ Immuno-modulatory activity
▪ Anticancer and antitumor activities
▪ Antimetabolic disorder effect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1021949816301879#fig2

22. Relative IFN-ꝩ production by kumquat carotenoids in vitro (2015)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09168451.2015.1025033
Immuno-
modulatory

23. Activation of NK cell by kumquat pericarp fraction in
KHYG-1 cells. (2015)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09168451.2015.1025033
Immuno-
modulatory

24. Effects of kumquat fruit extract on Metabolic Disorders in
High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese C57BL/6 Mice (2014)
high-fat diet (HF), and
high-fat diet with 1% (w/w) extract of kumquat (HF+FME) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3976270/
Lipids

25. Inhibition of prostate cancer (LNCaP) cell proliferation by
volatile components from Nagami kumquats (2012)
▪ Fresh Nagami kumquats (Fortunella margarita) were subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type
apparatus to obtain volatile oil. The chemical composition of the volatile oil was analyzed by GC-MS using Rtx-5
Sil MS and DB Wax columns.
▪ A total of 25 volatile compounds were identified by mass spectra, retention index, and comparison with known
standards. The major identified compounds are d-limonene (41.64 %), β-myrecene (16.54 %), linalyl propionate
(9.55 %), and germacrene-D (5.93 %) from the Rtx-5 Sil MS column; d-limonene and β-myrecene were also
separated as major compounds on the DB wax column. The oil is rich in hydrocarbons (77.41 %) consisting of
60.05 % monoterpenes and 17.36 % sesquiterpenes.
▪ Interestingly, oxygenated hydrocarbons (17.6 %) were also found in kumquat volatile oil. Certain volatile
compounds were also confirmed by positive chemical ionization and NMR spectra. Further, the volatile oil
demonstrated good DPPH radical scavenging activity and antioxidant capacity.
▪ Kumquat volatile oil at 200 ppm concentration exhibited 55 %, 61 %, and 63.4 % inhibition of human prostate
cancer (LNCaP) cell proliferation at 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively, by cell count assays. Significant increases in
expression of bax/bcl2 and p53 proteins confirmed that volatile oil induces apoptosis.
▪ In addition, inhibition of inflammatory markers such as NF-κB and Cox-2 was observed. The cleavage of
caspase-8 in the LNCaP cells treated with volatile oil demonstrated that apoptosis occurred through an extrinsic
pathway. This is the first report of the identification and possible mechanisms of in vitro antiproliferative effects
of kumquat volatile components on human prostate cancer (LNCaP) cells.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22673830/
Anticancer

26. Summary of Pharmacological actions of
Kumquat phytochemicals
©DRKEVINNG

27. • CLINICAL STUDIES
●

28. Clinical studies on kumquat are lacking
▪ Basic research in recent years has uncovered many phytochemicals which
are beneficial for health.
▪ However, clinical research to establish their efficacy in humans is lacking.
▪ A biotech company has emerged to look for phytochemicals that target
the treatment of degenerative diseases and cancer.

29. Traditional use of kumquat
▪ Kumquats symbolize prosperity and are often presented as gifts.
▪ The Chinese use the kumquat to bring in the Chinese new year.
▪ In Asian countries, the kumquat is used for common cold and upper
respiratory tract infection

30. Commercial Kumquat Products

31. Delicious Kumquat Cuisines

32. Summary
▪ Kumquat is a fruit native to Southern China and is now
cultivated in many parts of the world.
▪ It has been used as food and medicine for thousands of
years.
▪ Preclinical studies of the phytochemicals in the fruit have
shown antioxidant, immuno-modulatory, anti-inflammatory
and anticancer properties.
▪ However, clinical study to confirm these beneficial
properties of kumquat is lacking.
▪ The aroma and flavor of kumquat continue to be enjoyed
all over the world.