Italian Citrus Petitgrain Oils. Part IV. Composition of Lemon Petitgrain Oil

Abstract

The composition of Italian industrial lemon petitgrain oil has been examined by HPLC-GC/MS (ITD), GC/MS (quadrupole) and GC using GC capillary SE-52 and Carbowax 20 M columns. A total of 66 compounds have been identified, which represent 98–99% of the whole oil. Among the oxygenated compounds identified, aldehydes were found in highest proportions. 1,8-Cineole, which is either absent or present only as trace in the other Citrus petitgrains, represented 1.1–2.1% of lemon petitgrain oil. Lemon petitgrain oil is more similar to lemon peel oil, than the other Citrus petitgrain oils to the correspondent peel oils.

Key Word Index:

• Citrus limon
• Rutaceae
• Lemon leaf oil
• Lemon petitgrain oil
• β-pinene
• limonene
• neral
• geranial