LEMON AND LIME CITRUS ESSENTIAL OILS - ANALYSIS AND ORGANOLEPTIC EVALUATION

The techniques used in this laboratory to obtain accurate qualitative and quantitative analyses of lemon and lime essential oils are reviewed. This quantitative database has helped to clarify the differences among Sicilian and California lemon peel oils, Mexican lime peel oil, and also to explain the chemical changes that take place during production of distilled lime oil. The HPLC-separated oxygenated fractions of Sicilian lemon peel oil have been evaluated organoleptically by a panel of experts using a capillary GC sniff port. A relatively quick, convenient method was used to pinpoint important contributors to lemon aroma. Although the data is based on a small number of opinions, the results agree well with earlier literature and expand the knowledge of lemon flavor. Relative intensity factors were assigned to lemon oil oxygenated constituents which were then ranked according to their importance to lemon aroma. Many unidentified trace constituents were also evaluated and ranked.