Citrus essential oil transparently soluble in hydrophilic solvent and method for producing the same

摘要

In the present invention, a citrus essential oil purified product having a monoterpene hydrocarbon content of 5 mass% or less can be obtained, even if the heating temperature during distillation is low, as a result of the following: being able to eliminate nonvolatile components, while minimizing loss of aromatic components, by constant-pressure thin-film distillation of the nonvolatile components which are resistant to dissolution in a hydrophilic solvent of the citrus essential oil; and distillation of terpene hydrocarbons by superfractionation of a distillate obtained by the thin-film distillation. Provided is a purification method for transparently dissolving citrus essential oil in the hydrophilic solvent by a method that can be easily performed on an industrial scale.