GC/MS analysis of Citrus aurantium L. hydrolate and its comparison with the commercial samples

ABSTRACT

The chemical composition of the Hydrolate of Citrus aurantium L. [Rutaceae] flowers [neroli] grown in Iran, and two commercial hydrolates were analyzed by GC/MS. Thirty compounds [90.3%] were identified in the Hydrolate by the use of laboratory apparatus, thirty-eight compounds [83.4%] in the Hydrolate from the traditional method and fifteen compounds [98.3%] in the industrially produced sample. The major compounds within the Hydrolate obtained in the laboratory were geraniol [26.6%], alpha-terpineol [20.7%], linalool [15.4%] and benzene acetaldehyde [5.5%]. Linalool [44.1%], methyl anthranilate [11.8%] and cis-linalool oxide [6.1%] were found in high percentages in the Hydrolate from the obtained traditional sample. 1,8-Cineol [15.9%], linalool [13.8%] and alpha-terpineol [6.6%] were more than other constituents in the industrially obtained hydrolate