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A comparison of the constituents of essential oils of Citrus limon peel and <i>C. aurantifolia</i> fruit


AA Gbolade
AP Guedes
FM Ferreira

Abstract

Essential oils of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) whole fruits and lemon (Citrus limon) peel from Nigeria have been analysed by combined GC and GC-MS. Both oils were of similar composition, but with differences in yields of components. The oils are composed largely of monoterpene hydrocarbons (C. aurantifolia 71.6 %; C. limon 81.2 %) and oxygenated monoterpenes (C. aurantifolia 23.4 %; C. limon 16.7 %). Limonene was the major component in lemon peel oil (65.4 %), while limonene (43.1 %) and ß-pinene (14.2 %) were characteristic of lime oil. Other monoterpenes such as γ-terpinene, α-terpineol, neral and geranial also occurred in moderate amounts in both oils. The sesquiterpenes amounted to 3.5 % in C. aurantifolia and 1.3 % in C. limon.

Keywords: Citrus limon; Citrus aurantifolia; Fruit peel; Rutaceae; Essential oil; Limonene; ß-Pinene


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