Caracterização química de óleos essenciais em folhas de laranjeira azeda e mexeriqueira

Abstract

Essential oils, known as secondary metabolites, extracted from the leaves of sour orange and mandarins trees have in their composition linalool, limonene, α-terpineol, methyl N-methylanthranilate, linalyl acetate, γ–terpinene and other chemical compounds. These compounds show remarkable organoleptic properties and are widely used in cosmetics, perfumes, foods and medicine. Abiotic effects can influence the content of the compounds by modifying their composition. Considering the potential use of Citrus essential oils, the objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of petitgrain over from accessions of Citrus aurantium L. and accessions of Citrus deliciosa Tenore from the Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Cassava and Fruit. The yield of essential oil was obtained by hidrodistillation of leaves and identification of compounds by gas chromatography (GC/FID and GC/MS). Among the major compounds in sour orange petitgrain the follow can be highlighted: linalool (6.6%-48.9%), linalyl acetate (0.4%-33.8%), α-terpineol (0.3%-10.8%), β-pinene (0.4%-46%) and methyl N-methylanthranilate (0.7%-30.9). Regarding mandarins, methyl N-methylanthranilate (60.4%-84.6%), γ–terpinene (6.1%-19.6%) and limonene (2.7%-10.27%) were the major ones. The accessions showed a large diversity of compounds that can be obtained from petitgrain essential oils, both sour orange and mandarins, and therefore feasible potential for commercial use.