Traditional uses 

Lime flowers are antispasmodic, diaphoretic, expectorant, hypotensive, laxative and sedative. Lime flowers are a popular domestic remedy for a number of ailments, especially in the treatment of colds and other ailments where sweating is desirable. Lime flower is traditionally used to treat indigestion, hypertension, hardening of the arteries, hysteria, nervous vomiting or palpitation. (1)

Pharmacognosy

The active constituents in Tilia cordata, quercetin and isoquercitrin display anticonvulsant and antioxidant effects. (2)

A study investigating the anti-inflammatory activity of procyanidins isolated from Tilia cordata on neutrophils found that Tilia cordata compounds were able to decrease the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from f-MLP-stimulated neutrophils. Most compounds inhibited Lipopolysaccharide induced (LPS- induced) release of IL-8. Results partially support the traditional usage of infusion from lime flowers in the treatment of symptoms of inflammation and irritation of mucosa in common cold, pharyngitis and tonsillitis. (3)

Tiliroside, the principal flavonol glycoside derived from the Tilia extract was found to show a hepatoprotective effect and its suggested effect was to inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production, decrease the sensitivity of hepatocytes to TNF-alpha and protect hepatocytes. (4)

1. PFAF. Tilia cordata 2019.
2. Cárdenas-Rodríguez N, González-Trujano ME, Aguirre-Hernández E, Ruíz-García M, Sampieri A, 3rd, Coballase-Urrutia E, et al. Anticonvulsant and antioxidant effects of Tilia americana var. mexicana and flavonoids constituents in the pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. 2014;2014:329172-.
3. Czerwinska ME, Dudek MK, Pawlowska KA, Prus A, Ziaja M, Granica S. The influence of procyanidins isolated from small-leaved lime flowers (Tilia cordata Mill.) on human neutrophils. Fitoterapia. 2018;127:115-22.
4. Matsuda H, Ninomiya K, Shimoda H, Yoshikawa M. Hepatoprotective principles from the flowers of Tilia argentea (linden): structure requirements of tiliroside and mechanisms of action. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry. 2002;10(3):707-12.