Backhousia citriodora F. Muell. (Myrtaceae), A Superior Source of Citral

Leaf from the citral chemical variety of lemon myrtle, Backhousia citriodora, was examined for volatile constituents by GC and GC/MS analysis of both steam volatile oils and solvent extracts. Identified constituents present at more than 0.1 per cent on average in the oil were found to be myrcene (0....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of essential oil research 2000-11, Vol.12 (6), p.735-741
Main Authors: Southwell, Ian A., Russell, Michael, Smith, Roslyn L., Archer, Dennis W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
6-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one
Backhousia citriodora
citral
citronellal
Cymbopogon
essential oil composition
geranial
iso-citral
iso-geranial
iso-neral
lemon myrtle
linalool
Litsea cubeba
myrcene
Myrtaceae
neral
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Summary:Leaf from the citral chemical variety of lemon myrtle, Backhousia citriodora, was examined for volatile constituents by GC and GC/MS analysis of both steam volatile oils and solvent extracts. Identified constituents present at more than 0.1 per cent on average in the oil were found to be myrcene (0.1-0.7%), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (0.1-2.5%), linalool (0.3-1.0%), citronellal (0.1-0.9%), iso-neral (0.6-2.7), iso-geranial (1.0-4.2%), neral (32.0-40.9%) and geranial (46.1-60.7%). Physical constants were found to fall within the ranges of 0.888-0.910 for relative density, 1.4853-1.4909 for refractive index, -1.5°-+0.4° for optical rotation and 0.8-2.3 volumes for solubility in 70% ethanol. Comparison of chemical and physical data with those of other citral-rich commercial oils showed that B. citriodora was richer in citral than both lemongrass (Cymhopogon flexuosus and C. citratus) and Litsea cuheba. Micro-extraction of fresh leaf with absolute ethanol gave volatile extracts with higher proportions of citral and lower proportions of cogeners iso-neral and iso-geranial than steam distillation suggesting partial double bond migration during the distillation process. No significant variation in citral content was observed between flash growth and mature leaf or between fresh and dried leaf.
ISSN:1041-2905
2163-8152
DOI:10.1080/10412905.2000.9712204