Composition of Turkish bitter orange and lemon leaf oils

Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) and lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) leaf oils were obtained from bitter orange tree leaves and lemon tree leaves by steam distillation. The oils were analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) and high-resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HRGC/MS). In total, 50 and 60 components have been identified in bitter orange and lemon leaf oils, respectively. Bitter orange leaf oil showed a high content of oxygenated compounds (89.6%) with linalyl acetate (50.1%) and linalool (24.8%) being the main components. Lemon leaf oil was characterized by higher content of monoterpene hydrocarbons (64.2%) of which limonene (44.2%) and beta-pinene (10.6%) were the major components. it contained a lower content oxygenated compounds (33.5%) than the bitter orange leaf oil.