Petitgrain

Abstract: The volatile constituents of the essential oils of the peel, flower (neroli) and leaves (petitgrain) of bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) growing in Greece were studied by GC-MS. The analytical procedures enabled the quantitative determination of 31 components. More specifically, the components of the essential oils identified were: twelve in the peel, twenty-six in the flowers, and twenty and sixteen in old and young leaves, respectively. The major constituents of the different parts of Citrus aurantium L. essential oils were: β-pinene (0.62%-19.08%), limonene (0.53%-94.67%), trans-β-ocimene (3.11%-6.06%), linalool (0.76%-58.21%), and α-terpineol (0.13%-12.89%). The DPPH test demonstrated that the essential oils in the old leaves had the maximum antioxidant activity, followed by the flowers, young leaves and the peel in that order. This study updates the data in the literature on the essential oils of bitter orange, and provides information on the composition of the oils for a further evaluation of this product.

Abstract: The essential oils isolated by hydro-distillation from Pelargonium graveolens (geranium) and Citrus reticulate (petitgrain mandarin) were analyzed by GC/MS and assessed for antioxidant and anticancer activities. Twenty five components of petitgrain mandarin essential oil were identified and the majorcomponents wereγ-terpinene(47.89%), methylN-methyl anthranilate (13.17%),α-terpinene(7.40%), β-phellandrene (6.26%) and trans-isolimonene (5.87%). On the other hand, Thirty two compounds constituting 99.23% of geranium essential oil have been identified. The major components were citronellol (29.90%), trans-geraniol (18.03%), 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (8.27%), isomenthone (5.44%) and linalool (5.13%). The DPPH free radical scavenging activities of petitgrain mandarin and geranium essential oils at various concentrations ranging from 25 to 200μg/ml were determined. The essential oils of both plants reduced the concentration of DPPH free radical with an efficacy near to that of standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid). 50% effective concentration (EC50) of petitgrain mandarin essential oil (79.84 μg/ml) was higher than geranium essential oil (66.45 μg/ml). It was indicated that the antioxidant activity of the geranium essential oil was higher than that of the petitgrain mandarin essential oil. In addition to the antioxidant activity, the anticancer activity of the two essential oils on two human promyelocytic leukemia cell lines (HL-60 and NB4) using trypan blue assay were investigated in vitro. HL-60 and NB4 cell lines were treated with the essential oils samples at different concentrations ranging from 25 to 200μg/ml. Geranium essential oil showed the highest anticancer activity with the LC50 values of 62.50 µg/ml in NB4 cell line and 86.5 µg/ml in HL-60 cell line, whereas petitgrain mandarin essential oil gave the LC50 values of 85.05 µg/ml in NB4 cell line and 105.73 µg/ml in HL-60 cell line. The results demonstrated the potential of the two essential oils for cancer treatments.

Abstract: The bitter orange tree is used to obtain different products: essential oil cold pressed from the peel of the fruit, the neroli distilled from the flowers, the petitgrain distilled from the leaves and twigs, and different other products obtained by solvent extraction or by hydrodistillation. All these products are much appreciated for their odor properties. Their analytical characterization is important for the Identification of quality parameters, and considering their commercial value, it is important to determine their composition. This study is meant to determine differences between Italian and Egyptian cold-pressed, neroli and petitgrain oils, and gives useful information on the composition of the essential oil obtained from the whole crushed fruits. The composition of all the samples was studied by different analytical techniques to determine the volatile fraction, the enantiomeric distribution of some volatiles (by GC, GC/MS and esGC, respectively) and the oxygen heterocyclic fraction by RP...