Eriocitrin Lemon Extract (Eriomin): What It Does and What It Doesn't

Eriocitrin Lemon Extract (Eriomin): What It Does and What It Doesn't

Eriocitrin is a flavonoid from lemons, and Eriomin® is a branded lemon extract standardized to 70% eriocitrin. In 12-week trials of adults with high blood sugar, the extract modestly improved fasting glucose and GLP-1 in some studies. No trial found a reduction in body weight or body fat compared with placebo.

What Is Eriocitrin?

Eriocitrin is a flavanone, the same flavonoid subgroup as hesperidin, the best-known orange flavonoid.² Chemically it is eriodictyol bound to a two-sugar unit called rutinose, and it is found mainly in lemon peel, with smaller amounts in the juice.¹

Eriomin is a branded lemon extract supplied by Ingredients by Nature. The version used in human trials is standardized to 70% eriocitrin, with about 5% hesperidin, 4% naringin, 1% didymin, and roughly 20% citrus fiber material from the peel.³,⁴ A 200 mg serving of that extract supplies about 140 mg of eriocitrin plus smaller amounts of the other three flavonoids.⁴

Because the trials tested the whole standardized extract, their results belong to that blend and cannot be assigned to purified eriocitrin alone.

What Happens to Eriocitrin After You Swallow It?

Most eriocitrin passes through your small intestine intact. Bacteria in your colon clip off the sugar unit, which frees eriodictyol, and your body then converts eriodictyol into a family of related compounds that circulate in your blood.¹,²

A crossover study in 16 healthy adults compared a single dose of an eriocitrin-rich lemon extract (a different commercial extract, Wellemon™) with a hesperidin-rich orange extract, each providing 260 mg of the main flavanone.² The researchers identified 17 flavanone metabolites. Total plasma metabolites peaked sooner after the lemon extract (about 6 hours versus 8) and reached higher levels than after the orange extract.² The authors suggest eriocitrin's higher water solubility makes it easier for gut bacteria to process. Euromed, the lemon extract's maker, funded that study. Its focus was absorption, and the metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative markers measured after a high-fat, high-sugar meal did not change significantly with either extract.²

In practice, eriocitrin's metabolites show up in your blood several hours after a dose, once colon bacteria have done most of the processing.

Which Human Trials Have Tested Eriomin?

The four randomized, placebo-controlled Eriomin trials compared below were conducted by the same research group at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil. Their populations, doses, and analyzed sample sizes differ, which affects how broadly the results apply.

Every trial used 12-week treatment periods and enrolled people whose blood sugar was already above normal. None reported a conventional intention-to-treat analysis of everyone randomized: the analyzed groups were 103 of 120, 30 of 45, 29 of 45, and 68 of 71, and the 2025 trial also carried forward the last observation for some missing data and excluded outliers when model assumptions were violated.¹,³,⁴,⁵

Ingredients by Nature funded all four trials and supplied the extract. Each paper states that the authors have no conflicts of interest or that the sponsor had no role in the study, or both. Separately, an Ingredients by Nature news release names Thais Cesar, an author on all four papers, as the company's Chief Scientific Advisor.⁶ Independent replication would strengthen confidence in how well these findings apply beyond the studied populations.

Does Eriomin Lower Blood Sugar?

Ribeiro 2019 is the only parallel, dose-ranging trial of the four. Adults with prediabetes were randomized to placebo or one of three Eriomin doses for 12 weeks, and fasting glucose was the primary outcome.³ In all three Eriomin groups, fasting glucose fell 4% to 6% while it rose slightly on placebo, and the end-of-study values differed from placebo.³ The 2-hour glucose tolerance test, HbA1c (down about 2%), and insulin resistance moved the same way. Higher doses did no better than 200 mg.³

The analysis covered the 103 people who took at least 90% of their capsules and finished every visit. A 2% relative drop in an HbA1c of about 5.8% works out to roughly 0.1 percentage points. The authors also reported that 24% of people on Eriomin moved back into the normal glucose range, while the placebo group stayed the same.³

Cesar 2022 tested 200 mg a day in people with higher fasting glucose, using a crossover design in which each person took Eriomin for one period and placebo for the other.⁴ Fasting glucose, the primary outcome, fell 5% from the start to the end of the Eriomin period.⁴ That is a within-period change from that period's baseline, not a difference from placebo. In that trial, only three participants returned to normal glucose, counting both treatment periods, so the authors did not attribute that change to Eriomin.⁴

Cesar 2025 added 250 mg of Eriomin or placebo to metformin in people with prediabetes.⁵ Fasting glucose, the primary outcome, did not change in either period. The 2-hour value on a glucose tolerance test was lower after the Eriomin period than after the placebo period.⁵

Does Eriocitrin Raise GLP-1?

GLP-1 is the gut hormone that helps release insulin after meals and signals fullness. All three Eriomin trials that measured fasting GLP-1 without metformin found it moved up.

• In Ribeiro 2019, GLP-1 rose about 15% in every Eriomin group and was unchanged on placebo, and end-of-study levels differed from placebo.³
• In Cesar 2022, GLP-1 (a secondary outcome) rose 17% from the start to the end of the Eriomin period.⁴ Like the glucose result, that percentage is a within-period change, not a comparison with placebo. The paper's table does flag week-12 GLP-1 as different from the placebo period, though the Eriomin period also started higher.⁴
• In Ramos 2023, a smaller trial whose stated aim was the gut microbiome, GLP-1 rose 22% within the Eriomin group, with no change on placebo.¹ The paper does not name GLP-1 as its primary outcome.

In the metformin trial, active GLP-1 held steady during the Eriomin period and fell 15% during the placebo period, but the difference between periods was not statistically significant.⁵

These trials measured fasting GLP-1 at the start and end of treatment. They did not measure hunger or show that the glucose changes came from the GLP-1 change, and they did not enroll anyone taking a prescription GLP-1 medication.

Does Eriocitrin Reduce Inflammation Markers?

The inflammation results are less consistent than the glucose results.

In Ribeiro 2019, hsCRP fell about 12%, IL-6 about 13%, and TNF-α about 11% from baseline to week 12 within the Eriomin groups, with no change on placebo; the end-of-study values for these markers also differed from placebo.³ In Cesar 2022, IL-6 fell 14% and TNF-α fell 20% within the Eriomin period, while hsCRP did not change.⁴ In Ramos 2023, none of those markers changed significantly.¹ In the metformin trial, TNF-α fell within the Eriomin period, and IL-6, MCP-1, and CRP showed no difference between periods.⁵

Three trials found reductions in at least one marker, mostly as within-group or within-period changes, Ramos 2023 found none, and no trial was designed with inflammation as its main outcome.

Does Eriocitrin Help With Weight Loss or Appetite?

No placebo-controlled Eriomin trial has shown a significant reduction in body weight or body fat.

Ribeiro 2019 and Cesar 2022 both measured body weight, BMI, fat mass, and lean mass with bioimpedance. Average BMI at baseline was about 34, in the obesity range, in both trials. Neither trial found a change in any of those measures on Eriomin or placebo.³,⁴ Ramos 2023 found no change in body measurements either.¹

Only the metformin trial reported a weight change. Average weight dropped from 87.2 to 86.6 kg during the Eriomin period, a statistically significant change within that period, but the comparison with the placebo period was not significant (P=0.10), and neither was the comparison for body fat percentage.⁵

Appetite has not been tested directly. No trial measured hunger, fullness, or cravings. Two trials tracked food records and found no change in calorie intake on Eriomin.³,⁴ In the metformin trial, the fullness hormone PYY fell 12% during the Eriomin period, a significant difference from the placebo period.⁵

Products that contain Eriomin are now being tested for weight. One registered, industry-sponsored trial is evaluating a multi-ingredient supplement containing Eriomin, bitter melon, silybin, chromium, and other nutrients. Its primary outcomes are the percentage and absolute change in home-scale body weight at 16 weeks, rather than reporting completed weight-loss results.⁷ Until results like those are published, a weight-loss claim built on eriocitrin alone goes beyond the data.

Is Eriomin Safe to Take?

In the published trials, Eriomin was well tolerated over 12 weeks. Ribeiro 2019 recorded seven adverse events across 103 people, mostly soft stools and two headaches, none severe, at similar rates on placebo and Eriomin.³ Liver enzymes and kidney markers stayed stable in the trials that measured them.³,⁴,⁵

No one in these trials took Eriomin continuously for more than 12 weeks. If you take medication for blood sugar, including metformin, insulin, or a GLP-1 drug, talk with your doctor before adding a supplement aimed at glucose metabolism. Do not change or stop a prescribed medication on your own.

Why Combine Eriocitrin With Probiotics and Dihydroberberine?

We built WonderBiotics Probiotics for Weight Management to support several parts of metabolic health in one capsule a day, taken after a meal.¹¹ It pairs 8 named probiotic strains (20 billion CFU) with two metabolic ingredients: dihydroberberine and a lemon fruit extract standardized to 70% eriocitrin, the same standardization as the extract used in the trials above.¹¹ The formula combines named probiotic strains with a modified berberine form and a standardized citrus ingredient. If you are looking for a probiotic that combines named strains with a metabolic ingredient like berberine, this is the combination we chose.

Each ingredient's evidence comes from its own studies, with different outcomes:

• Body composition: B420. In its main six-month trial of 225 adults with overweight or obesity, the pre-specified primary analysis of body fat across all four groups was not significant.⁸ Among participants who followed the protocol, B420 plus fiber showed 4.5% less body fat mass than placebo in an exploratory comparison, B420 alone did not reach significance, and a post-hoc factorial analysis in that same group found a 2.4 cm greater reduction in waist circumference with B420 than without it.⁸ DuPont fully funded the trial, several authors were DuPont employees, and the sponsor helped draft the protocol and interpret the data.⁸
• Absorption: dihydroberberine. In a randomized crossover pilot in five healthy young men, four doses of 100 mg dihydroberberine produced higher plasma berberine over the two hours after the last dose than four doses of 500 mg standard berberine, although levels were already higher in the dihydroberberine condition before that last dose.⁹ Glucose and insulin did not differ. NNB Nutrition, which makes the ingredient, funded the study, and one author was a paid adviser to the company.⁹
• Glucose and GLP-1 markers: the lemon extract. The Eriomin trials describe shifts in glucose and GLP-1 markers. They do not show weight loss, so the extract is not there for that purpose.

Gut bacteria process both botanicals, in different ways. Colon bacteria convert eriocitrin to eriodictyol, which can then form circulating metabolites.¹,² Animal research also found that gut bacteria convert standard berberine into DHB, followed by greater intestinal absorption.¹⁰ Our formula supplies DHB directly alongside the standardized lemon extract. Those findings explain the ingredients' biological context; they do not establish that adding our probiotic blend improves absorption, lowers glucose, or reproduces the extract trials' results. The cited studies tested the ingredients separately rather than our finished capsule.

We recommend giving it three to six months as part of your eating and activity routine. It is a dietary supplement that supports your routine; it does not treat prediabetes, diabetes, or obesity, and it does not replace any medication.

What the Lemon-Extract Research Means in Practice

Eriocitrin is a well-characterized lemon flavonoid. Four small, company-funded trials from one Brazilian group found that the standardized extract Eriomin produced modest shifts in fasting glucose and GLP-1 in people with above-normal blood sugar, with mixed results on inflammation markers and no placebo-adjusted change in body weight or body fat.

In our formula, the lemon extract is included to support healthy glucose metabolism, while the case for body composition rests on the separate B420 trial and on your eating and activity routine. Check with your doctor before starting any metabolic supplement, especially if you take prescription medication.

References

1. Ramos FMM, Ribeiro CB, Cesar TB, et al. Lemon flavonoids nutraceutical (Eriomin®) attenuates prediabetes intestinal dysbiosis: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Food Sci Nutr. 2023;11(11):7283-7295. PMID 37970408.
2. Ávila-Gálvez MÁ, Giménez-Bastida JA, González-Sarrías A, Espín JC. New insights into the metabolism of the flavanones eriocitrin and hesperidin: a comparative human pharmacokinetic study. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021;10(3):435. PMID 33799874.
3. Ribeiro CB, Ramos FM, Manthey JA, Cesar TB. Effectiveness of Eriomin® in managing hyperglycemia and reversal of prediabetes condition: a double-blind, randomized, controlled study. Phytother Res. 2019;33(7):1921-1933. PMID 31183921.
4. Cesar TB, Ramos FMM, Ribeiro CB. Nutraceutical eriocitrin (Eriomin) reduces hyperglycemia by increasing glucagon-like peptide 1 and downregulates systemic inflammation: a crossover-randomized clinical trial. J Med Food. 2022;25(11):1050-1058. PMID 35796695.
5. Cesar T, Oliveira MR, Sandrim V, et al. Citrus flavonoid supplement enhances glycemic and metabolic control in prediabetic patients on metformin: a randomized controlled trial. Front Nutr. 2025;12:1639901. PMID 40904779.
6. Ingredients by Nature. IBN studies Eriomin in association with metformin on SHIME (company news release).
7. ClinicalTrials.gov. Weight and Metabolic Management Study (NCT07789223).
8. Stenman LK, Lehtinen MJ, Meland N, et al. Probiotic with or without fiber controls body fat mass, associated with serum zonulin, in overweight and obese adults: randomized controlled trial. EBioMedicine. 2016;13:190-200. PMID 27810310.
9. Moon JM, Ratliff KM, Hagele AM, et al. Absorption kinetics of berberine and dihydroberberine and their impact on glycemia: a randomized, controlled, crossover pilot trial. Nutrients. 2022;14(1):124. PMID 35010998.
10. Feng R, Shou JW, Zhao ZX, et al. Transforming berberine into its intestine-absorbable form by the gut microbiota. Sci Rep. 2015;5:12155. PMID 26174047.
11. WonderBiotics. Probiotics for Weight Management, product page.