
Chemically, citral is a mixture of two aldehydes that have the same molecular formula but different structures. Lemongrass oil contains 70–80 percent citral, which may be isolated by distillation. Other natural sources include the oils of verbena
Verbena
Verbena is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 250 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia. Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is the typ…
What is citral oil made of?
Citral is a main component of citrus fruit's peel oil. It is especially found in orange peel. Citral is a mixture of neral and geranial which are monoterpene aldehydes (Maarse, 1991). Citral has been applied to food, cosmetics, and beverages as a natural ingredient for its passionate lemon aroma and flavor.
What is the source of citral?
Citral is a natural substance that can be obtained from plant oils. Lemongrass oil contains 75 to 80 % citral that may be isolated through the distillation process. Some other natural sources include verbena oil and citronella oil. Citral can be obtained from myrcene. It is generally found in the peel of the orange.
What is citral used for?
Citral is separated from the oil by fractional distillation and used as a starting material for the synthesis of a number of industrially important products. Citral has a citrus flavour.
What is the structure of citral enal?
Citral is an enal that consists of octa-2,6-dienal bearing methyl substituents at positions 3 and 7. A mixture of the two geometric isomers geranial and neral, it is the major constituent (75-85%) of oil of lemon grass, the volatile oil of Cymbopogon citratus, or of C. flexuosus.

What is citral made up of?
Citral is a main component of citrus fruit's peel oil. It is especially found in orange peel. Citral is a mixture of neral and geranial which are monoterpene aldehydes (Maarse, 1991). Citral has been applied to food, cosmetics, and beverages as a natural ingredient for its passionate lemon aroma and flavor.
Is citral natural or synthetic?
syntheticCitral is a synthetic chemical produced for industry, however it can be found naturally in some plants and plant essential oils, such as orange (Citrus x aurantium), lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus).
What is biological source of citral?
Citral is a natural substance that can be obtained from plant oils. Lemongrass oil contains 75 to 80 % citral that may be isolated through the distillation process. Some other natural sources include verbena oil and citronella oil. Citral can be obtained from myrcene.
Do lemons contain citral?
Citral is a chemical compound found in several plants that gives them a “lemony” scent and taste. It is found in lemons, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and of course, lemon myrtle.
How do you extract citral from lemongrass?
In this research, a steam-water distillation technique was applied to extract the essential oil from the lemongrass. The effects of sample particle size and bed volume on yield and quality of citral oil produced were investigated. The drying and refining time of 2 hours were used as fixed variables.
Is citral and lemongrass the same?
Chemically, citral is a mixture of two aldehydes that have the same molecular formula but different structures. Lemongrass oil contains 70–80 percent citral, which may be isolated by distillation.
How much citral is in lemongrass?
Lemongrass oil contains citral at concentrations of approximately 65-85% w/w, and lemon oil contains citral at a concentration of approximately 2-5% w/w.
What essential oils contain citral?
Citral is present in the oils of several plants, including lemon myrtle (90–98%), Litsea citrata (90%), Litsea cubeba (70–85%), lemongrass (65–85%), lemon tea-tree (70–80%), Ocimum gratissimum (66.5%), Lindera citriodora (about 65%), Calypranthes parriculata (about 62%), petitgrain (36%), lemon verbena (30–35%), lemon ...
What chemicals are in lemongrass?
The active ingredients present in lemongrass essential oil are myrcene, limonene, citral, geraniol, citronellol, geranyl acetate, neral, and nerol. Although myrcene and limonene are aromatic compounds, citral and geraniol serve as an antimicrobial and insecticidal, respectively.
What does citral smell like?
Citral appears as a clear yellow colored liquid with a lemon-like odor.
Is citral good for skin?
Citral is a thoroughly evaluated and commonly used fragrance ingredient. It has been identified by European Union scientific bodies as a potential skin sensitizer. This means that citral has the potential to cause a skin reaction (such as red, bumpy, or itchy skin).
What is the purpose of citral?
Citral is used as a natural ingredient in foods, cosmetics, and beverages for its strong lemon aroma and flavor. Essential oils containing citral have been shown to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties, making citral a natural preservative.
Is citral safe for skin?
Citral is a thoroughly evaluated and commonly used fragrance ingredient. It has been identified by European Union scientific bodies as a potential skin sensitizer. This means that citral has the potential to cause a skin reaction (such as red, bumpy, or itchy skin).
What is citral used for?
Citral is used as a natural ingredient in foods, cosmetics, and beverages for its strong lemon aroma and flavor. Essential oils containing citral have been shown to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties, making citral a natural preservative.
Is citral an essential oil?
Cymbopogan citratus (lemongrass), with up to 70% citral, is irritant. Essential oils high in citral can be safely used when diluted by addition of an oil high in terpenes such as d-limonene, which will quench the citral.
What citral means?
Definition of citral : an unsaturated liquid isomeric aldehyde C10H16O of many essential oils that has a strong lemon odor and is used especially in perfumery and as a flavoring.
Toxicological Aspects of Ingredients Used in Nonalcoholic Beverages
Canan Ece Tamer, ... Gülşah Özcan-Sinir, in Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 2019
Self-Assembled Systems Based on Surfactants and Polymers as Stabilizers for Citral in Beverages
Oyais Ahmad Chat, ... Aijaz Ahmad Dar, in Value-Added Ingredients and Enrichments of Beverages, 2019
Formation and Stability of 2,3-Dehydro-1,8-Cineol in a Model Carbonated Beverage System
Yaowapa Lorjaroenphon, ... Keith R. Cadwallader, in Flavour Science, 2014
Nanostructures of starch for encapsulation of food ingredients
Hadis Rostamabadi, ... Seid Mahdi Jafari, in Biopolymer Nanostructures for Food Encapsulation Purposes, 2019
Volume 2
B.P. Skaria, ... A. Joseph, in Handbook of Herbs and Spices (Second Edition), Volume 2, 2012
Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) Oils
Lemon myrtle essential oil has a high content of the aldehyde, citral (>90%), which is known to be a potential skin sensitizer; however, the risk is relatively low (Pengelly, 2003 ).
Citral Uses
Citral is commonly used in beverages, foods, cosmetics, and other products. Its possible carcinogenic effects were investigated because of its versatile use in many products like citral oil and citral good scents. Moreover, in the investigation, two rats – one male and one female were used.
Citral Oil
Citral is a natural substance that can be obtained from plant oils. Lemongrass oil contains 75 to 80 % citral that may be isolated through the distillation process. Some other natural sources include verbena oil and citronella oil. Citral can be obtained from myrcene. It is generally found in the peel of the orange.
Citral Medicinal Uses
Citral has beautiful features like incense, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, etc. It can also be used as a bug repellent. Here are some properties described that add values of citral to be used in medicines.
Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts
M. Aoun, ... G. Lafaye, in Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, 2010
Antigenotoxic Potential of Some Dietary Non-phenolic Phytochemicals
Ana Clara Aprotosoaie, ... Anca Miron, in Studies in Natural Products Chemistry, 2019
Acetylene
Robert J. Tedeschi, in Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third Edition), 2003
Advanced Organic Synthesis Experiments
Joaquín Isac-García, ... Henar Martínez-García, in Experimental Organic Chemistry, 2016
Bioactive Phytocomponents and Their Analysis
In general, the aldehydes occurring in a large number of volatile oils are mostly either of aliphatic or aromatic nature. The former type (aliphatic aldehyde), with the exception of citral and citronellal, obviously do not exert any significant role in volatile oils.
Curry Leaf
Saima Batool, ... Shahabuddin Memon, in Medicinal Plants of South Asia, 2020
Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts
Päivi Mäki-Arvela, ... Dmitry Yu. Murzin, in Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, 2006
9 Pharmacology and Biochemistry
Male Fischer F344 rats were given citral labelled with 14C at the C1 and C2 positions in a single oral dose of 5, 50, or 500 mg/kg bw or an intravenous dose of 5 mg/kg bw. After 72 h, the animals were sacrificed and tissues and excreta analyzed for radioactivity.
10 Use and Manufacturing
Reported uses (FEMA, 1994): Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, baked goods, cheese, chewing gum, condiment (relish), frozen dairy, gelatin (pudding), gravies, hard and soft candy, meat products.
11 Identification
HSLC PROCEDURE WAS FASTER & MORE CONVENIENT THAN GLC FOR CITRAL DETERMINATION.
21 Information Sources
CAMEO Chemicals and all other CAMEO products are available at no charge to those organizations and individuals (recipients) responsible for the safe handling of chemicals. However, some of the chemical data itself is subject to the copyright restrictions of the companies or organizations that provided the data.
