Chemical Profile and Antioxidant Properties of Extracts and Essential Oils from Citrus × limon (L.) Burm. cv. Femminello Comune

Abstract

Citrus × limon cv. Femminello Comune (Rutaceae) from Rocca Imperiale (Italy), one of the six Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Italian lemon crops, has been recently received renewed interest. In this work, fresh and dried peels and leaves were extracted by hydrodistillation, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and Soxhlet apparatus. Chemical profile was assessed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Except for leaves extracts obtained by Soxhlet apparatus, the monoterpene hydrocarbons fraction dominated. Limonene, γ-terpinene, and β-pinene were the main identified compounds. The antioxidant activity was investigated using different in vitro assays namely 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ABTS, ferric reducing ability power (FRAP), and β-carotene bleaching test. In DPPH test, the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of fresh peel exhibited the highest activity (IC50 of 1.17 mg/ml). Leaves extracted by SFE showed a good activity in both DPPH and β-carotene bleaching test with IC50 values of 2.20 and 6.66 mg/ml, respectively. Monoterpene hydrocarbons fraction exhibited a positive Pearson's correlation coefficient with all antioxidant assays. Leaves, often considered waste material, should be considered from a different point because they represent a matrix of indisputable interest.

Antimutagenic and antioxidant activity of the essential oils of Citrus sinensis and Citrus latifolia

“…In regard to the citrus genus, Loizzo et al . 8 , reported antioxidant effects of the essential oil of Citrus x limon cv Femminello comune, which contains limonene, γ-terpinene and β-pinene as its major components.…”

“…Thujene, contained in these EOs has shown to be a good antioxidant, able to efficiently quenching singlet oxygen 7 . The monoterpenes such as R-(+)-limonene, γ-terpinene and β-pinene were identified as good antioxidants by the DPPH method 8 .…”

Biological Activities of Essential Oils: From Plant Chemoecology to Traditional Healing Systems

“…Different results have been achieved by Loizzo et al [ 306 ] which studied the essential oils extracted from lemon ( Citrus x limon ) fruit peels and leaves using different extraction methods (hydrodistillation, supercritical fluid extraction SFE, and Soxhlet extraction). The essential oils exerted different antioxidant and radical scavenging activities in in vitro chemical assays (DPPH, ABTS, ferric reducing ability power FRAP, and β-carotene bleaching test), depending on the part of the fruit (peels or leaves) and the extraction technique.…”

Volatile Compounds in Citrus Essential Oils: A Comprehensive Review

“…Thus, several sesquiterpenoid compounds are principally isolated in C. bergamia , and in its more related species and in C. limon . A notable example is the sesquiterpene α-bisabolol, frequently isolated in C. bergamia (Sawamura et al, 2006; Belsito et al, 2007; Costa et al, 2010; Furneri et al, 2012), C. limon (Blázquez and Carbó, 2015; Cannon et al, 2015; Loizzo et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2017), C. aurantifolia (Gancel et al, 2002; Minh Tu et al, 2002a; Chisholm et al, 2003b; Zhang et al, 2017), and C. medica (Lota et al, 1999; Verzera et al, 2005; Aliberti et al, 2016). Even there are terpene compounds that have been reported in C. bergamia and just once in C. limon as the monoterpene linalyl propionate [ C. bergamia (Poiana et al, 2003; Verzera et al, 2003; Costa et al, 2010) and C. limon (Cannon et al, 2015)].…”