Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Molecular Distillation On The Chemical Components, Cleaning, And Antibacterial Abilities Of Four Different Citrus Oils, Feilong Yang, Huijuan Zhang, Guifang Tian, Wenbo Ren, Juan Li, Hang Xiao, Jinkai Zheng

Food Science Department Faculty Publication Series

Essential oils (EOs) from citrus fruits are excellent aromatic resources that are used in food, cosmetics, perfume, and cleaning products. EOs extracted from four citrus varieties, sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, and lemon, were separated into two fractions by molecular distillation. The composition, physicochemical properties, cleaning ability, and antimicrobial activity of each EO were then systematically evaluated. The relationships between each of the aforementioned characteristics are also discussed. In keeping with the principle of "like dissolves like," most citrus EOs show better cleaning ability than acetone and all tend to dissolve the fat-soluble pigment. The key components of citrus …