Antioxidative Activities of Citrus Peel Essential Oils and Their Components against Linoleic Acid Oxidation.

Abstract

Antioxidative activities of thirty kinds of citrus essential oils and their fourteen components against linoleic acid oxidation were examined by a thiocyanate method. The tocopherol contents of these oils were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography monitored at 290 nm. All the citrus essential oils and the flavor components showed inhibitory effects against linoleic acid oxidation. Highest antioxidative ability was observed in the essential oils of yuzu, lemon, hassaku, sudachi, mochiyu, yuko and Tarocco orange. Antioxidative activities of ␤-pinene, myrcene, ␣-terpinene, ␥-terpinene and decanal were higher or similar to that of d d d d-tocopherol. Tocopherols were contained abundantly in the essential oils of limes, Valencia orange, yuzu and lemons. However, there was little correlation between tocopherol contents and antioxidative activities in citrus essential oils. The composition of terpene compounds seems to be a major factor in the antioxidative activities of these oils.

Compositional changes in commercial lemon essential oil for aromatherapy

“…BHA was detected only in the original sample at a level of 13 ppm, which disappeared after one year. In the previous study the level of atocopherol in cold-pressed lemon oil was 2.6 ppm (Song et al, 2001). These results imply that a-tocopherol in excess of 1000 ppm and a small amount of BHA were preliminary added to this commercial lemon essential oil.…”

Antioxidative Action of Citrus limonum Essential Oil on Skin

“…All the essential oils studied have shown a strong phenolic profile characterized by the presence of phenylpropanoids which are believed to be the active component of the essential oils [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Citrus essential oil has also been reported to have antioxidative activities against linoleic acid oxidation [10] and to both Cu 2+ -induced and 2, 2'azobis (2-aminopropane) hydrochloride-induced oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein in vitro [11]. Among the compounds tested in Citrus essential oil, γ-terpinene had the strongest antioxidant effect [11], but no clear relationship could be shown between the antioxidant activity and the essential oil composition of the extracts [12].…”

Volatile Profiles in Cold-Pressed Peel Oil from Korean and Japanese Shiranui (Citrus unshiuMarcov. ×C. sinensisOsbeck ×C. reticulataBlanco)

“…6,7,10) Limonene has also been reported as a characteristic odorant of Ponkan oil, 8) which is a parent of Shiranui. Among the abundant monoterpene hydrocarbons in both oils, sabinene and myrcene were determined as more than 1.6%.…”