Lime
What the research shows
No concerns
none of the findings here link it to harm
A small green sour fruit from a citrus tree.
It adds a sour taste and accents the flavours of foods and drinks.1
What research says
Studies in people
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Benefit
Cholera from food3
In a cholera outbreak, people who ate lime juice in rice sauce were less likely to get sick.
Study type not stated
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Benefit
Plant compounds in food4
Lime holds natural compounds that may fight germs and swelling, but scientists are still studying how best to use them.
Single cases of misuse or overdose
One person or one incident, such as an accidental overdose or a mistake in a kitchen or factory. They are real, but a single case does not show what happens at normal amounts, so the signal does not count them.
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Tooth wear from food2
A woman who drank lime juice daily to lose weight developed worn, sensitive teeth.
The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.
Products
The 6 most-scanned of 7,728 products on Open Food Facts that list lime.
- Easy Bake Yeast Allinson's · 100 g 3 additives
- Chipotle & lime Manomasa · 140 g 2 additives
- 3 Bean & Lentil Chilli Merchant Gourmet · 280 g 3 additives
- chilli and lime protein nut crunch graze · 100 g 1 additive
- Bourn Vita 500Gram Pauch Cadbury 10 additives
- Thai Green Lentil Curry Merchant Gourmet 2 additives
References
- 1Lime (fruit). Wikipedia. Accessed September 29, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
- 2Bamise CT, Dinyain VE, Kolawole KA. Dental erosion due to lime consumption; review of literature and case report. East Afr J Public Health. 2009;6(2):141-3. doi:10.4314/eajph.v6i2.51733
- 3Rodrigues A, Sandström A, Cá T, Steinsland H, Jensen H, Aaby P. Protection from cholera by adding lime juice to food - results from community and laboratory studies in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Trop Med Int Health. 2000;5(6):418-22. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3156.2000.00575.x
- 4Indriyani NN, Anshori JA, Permadi N, Nurjanah S, Julaeha E. Bioactive Components and Their Activities from Different Parts of Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle for Food Development. Foods. 2023;12(10). doi:10.3390/foods12102036