Italian Citrus Petitgrain Oils. Part II. Composition of Mandarin Petitgrain Oil

Abstract

The chemical composition of Italian industrial mandarin petitgrain oil was examined using GC on two capillary columns and a fully automated “on-line” HPLC-GC/MS (ITD) system and a GC/MS (quadrupole) system. Methyl N-methyl anthranilate was found to be the main component representing about 50% of the whole oil. γ-Terpinene (23.9–28.5%) was the main monoterpene hydrocarbon, followed by limonene (7.2–12.6%) and p-cymene (3.0–5.2%). Alcohols were found to represent only about 1% of the oil, while aldehydes were present only as traces.

Key Word Index:

• Citrus reticulata
• Rutaceae
• mandarin leaf oil
• mandarin petitgrain oil
• essential oil composition
• methyl N-methyl anthranilate
• γ-terpinene
• limonene