Essential oil of two new pigmented citrus hybrids, Citrus clementina X Citrus sinensis.

摘要

The chemical composition of the peel essential oils of 2 new citrus hybrids (A146 and C1867), obtained by crossbreeding the diploid clementine (C. clementina) and the tetraploid orange (C. sinensis) cv. Tarocco, was studied by GC-MS. Fruits of the hybrids and parents were collected in January 1995 from the Citrus Experimental Institute in Lentini, Sicily. In all, 42 components were fully characterized and grouped into 4 classes (monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, andaliphatic aldehydes and alcohols) for an easier comparison with the oils of the parents. Since limonene was by far the main component of all the essential oils examined, representing generally ca. 95% of the total, significant hybrid-hybrid and parent-hybrid differences could only be observed within the remaining 5%. Differences between the oils relating to the 4 classes of compounds are described. These new hybrids are the first example of a mandarin-like hybrid with a red pigmentation, a feature inherited from the Tarocco orange. This pigmentation is due to the presence of anthocyanins, whose known antioxidant activity gives them an important biological role in the disease prevention of living systems.