The green knobbly bergamot is abundant in the Calabria region, in the South of Italy and has become the symbol of the city of Reggio Calabria. The highest quality oils are found in the Calabria region, although it is also grown commercially in the South of France, Ivory Coast, South America and Turkey.
Bergamot essential oil is commonly used in aromatherapy to reduce acne, psoriasis and eczema but is also prized as a mood enhancer and to reduce stress. Bergamot oil has similar properties to grapefruit essential oil and is considered to be antiseptic and pain-relieving. It is said to reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration and increase serotonin and dopamine, leading to a feel-good factor.
On a the side of caution, bergamot oil like many natural essential oils can cause side effects and it's very important only to use as instructed. Perfumes containing bergamot should be avoided in the sun.
In a nutshell, Dove describes it as a highly prized ingredient. “Whilst it is very fresh and citrus, it is much richer and more rounded than any of the other citrus notes, which smell somewhat one-dimensional in comparison, making it a highly prized ingredient,” And so, bergamot has been used in perfumes since the 1700s.
Extract of Bergamot orange is often used to scent and flavour food (Earl Grey tea and Turkish delight), perfume or cosmetics.
The word bergamot comes from the Italian word, bergamotto.
The tree flowers in winter and has a slightly sour and bitter taste. It is likely to have originated in China, a cross between a bitter orange and a lemon.
The bergamot orange is not the same as the herb known as bergamot or wild bergamot, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family, and are named because their smell is similar to the bergamot orange.
The active ingredients in bergamot orange juice are neoeriocitrin, naringin, neohesperidin, ponceritin, melitidin, and mitrocin and 0.69% miriflin with 0% moisture brutieridin.[8] Melitidin and brutieridin exhibit statin-like properties.[9] Synephrine is not present in citrus bergamot. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange)