80 S.

MUHOHO
FLAVOUR AND NJOROGE
FRAGRANCE ET AL.
JOURNAL
Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85
Published online 26 May 2004 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/ffj.1377

Essential oil constituents of three varieties of Kenyan

sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis)
Simon Muhoho Njoroge,1 Hiroshi Koaze,1† Paul Nyota Karanja1 and Masayoshi Sawamura2*
1
Department of Food Science and Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, PO Box 62000,
Nairobi, Kenya
2
Department of Bioresources Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, B-200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
Received 20 January 2003; Revised 9 June 2003; Accepted 19 June 2003

ABSTRACT: The volatile components of peel essential oils of Salustiana (Citrus sinensis Osbeck forma Salustiana),
Valencia (C. sinensis Osbeck forma Valencia) and Washington navel (C. sinensis Osbeck forma Washington navel) sweet
oranges grown in Kenya were isolated by cold-pressing and determined by GC and GC-MS. A total of 56 components
were identified in Salustiana, 73 in Valencia and 72 in Washington navel peel oils. The identified components amounted
to 98.7, 97.8 and 97.4% of the total volatiles of each oil, respectively. Monoterpene hydrocarbons largely dominated in
the volatile fraction of the Salustiana (96.9%), Valencia (94.5%) and Washington navel (92.7%) oils. In each oil, limonene,
α -pinene, sabinene and α -terpinene were the major compounds. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons amounted to 0.1% of the
total volatiles of Valencia and Washington navel oils, where (E,E)-α-farnesene was the main compound. The total oxy-
genated compounds amounted to 1.7, 3.4 and 4.5% of the Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel volatiles. Linalool,
decanal, (Z)-carvone, (Z)-carveol, (E)-carveol, nootkatone and sabina ketone were the main components. The three sweet
orange varieties could be differentiated by the unique presence of α-phellandrene and γ -terpinene in Salustiana, β -
phellandrene, (Z)-nerolidol, aromadendrene in Valencia and p-cymene, β -sinensal and dodecanoic acid in Washington
navel oils. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEY WORDS: Kenyan Citrus fruits; sweet orange; Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck; Salustiana; Citrus sinensis Osbeck forma
Salustiana; Valencia; C. sinensis Osbeck forma Valencia; Washington navel (C. sinensis Osbeck forma Washington navel); cold
pressed peel oil; GC; GC-MS; volatile compound

Introduction The species of sweet oranges are categorized into the

The sweet orange, Citrus sinensis Osbeck, is the most
popularly cultivated Citrus species in the citricultural
regions of the world.1 The species originated in north-
eastern India and the adjoining portions of China and
Burma, and was first cultivated in China.1 Sweet oranges,
by virtue of their recognized nutritional value and desir-
able flavour, have found wide acceptance by consumers.
They are mainly utilized as fresh fruit, juice, salads,
desserts and preserves (jam, jelly, marmalades, etc.). In
addition, they provide valuable essential oils of wide
commercial applications in food processing, pharmaceu-
tical preparations, perfumery and cosmetics. Commercial
production of sweet oranges in many countries has
continued to increase, and the current world annual pro-
duction of 66.2 million tons is the highest of any fruit.2
The main producing countries are Brazil, USA, Mexico,
China, Spain, India, Egypt and Morocco.2
* Correspondence to: M. Sawamura, Department of Bioresources Science,
Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, B-200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi
783-8502, Japan.
E-mail: sawamura@cc.kochi-u.ac.jp
† Present address: 1790-6, Katahira, Aso, Kawasaki 215-0023, Japan.
common oranges, acidless oranges, pigmented oranges
and navel oranges.1 Among them, the common sweet
oranges comprise the most popular varieties cultivated
in many countries, such as Valencia, Barao, Salustiana,
Belladonna and Berna.1 The Valencia orange most prob-
ably originated from Portugal and has a wide popularity
by virtue of its abundant juice, acceptable flavour, pro-
longed keeping quality and good processing characteris-
tics.1 Salustiana is of Spanish origin and contains abundant
juice and excellent flavour. The Washington navel ori-
ginated from California, USA, and has become the most
popular of the navel oranges due to its pleasant flavour
(other navel oranges include Atwood, Australian, Navelina
and Thomson).1,3 Navel oranges are characterized by the
presence of a rudimentary secondary fruit (the navel)
embedded at the apex of the main fruit.
Sweet oranges are the major Citrus fruits produced
in Kenya.4 Commercial production of the fruit is done
at the Coast, Central and Rift Valley Provinces. The
fruits are popular in the local markets and are widely con-
sumed when fresh or as processed juices and preserves.
The production levels are on an increasing trend (the
current annual production is 0.3 million tons).2,4 Volatile
chemical compounds of Citrus essential oils are among

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85

the most distinctive components for identification and
evaluation of varieties. The occurrence of the components
varies among essential oils of fruits from different en-
vironmental origins, varieties and preparation methods.
Several studies on the volatile components of peel essen-
tial oils of sweet oranges of different origins have been
reported.5–11 Limonene at varying levels has been indi-
cated as the most dominant monoterpene hydrocarbon in
all the reported sweet orange oils. The other monoterpene
hydrocarbons at relatively prominent levels are myrcene,
β-pinene and sabinene. γ -Terpinene, a popular com-
ponent of sour Citrus peel oils, has not been reported
in most sweet orange oils.5,7 Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons
have been reported at minor concentrations in most sweet
orange peel oils.5–11 The main components are usually
β -caryophyllene, (E,E)-α-farnesene, (E)-β -farnesene, β -
elemene, γ -cadinene and germacrene D.7 The oxygenated
compounds, octanal, nonanal, decanal, α-sinensal, β -
sinensal, linalool, α-terpineol, terpinen-4-ol, carvone,
nootkatone, carveol and citral have been found in most of
the oils.7 The reported studies have shown important
variations in essential oil components as influenced by
geographical origins and varieties. Published reports on
the volatile components of Salustiana peel oil have been
scarce. Similarly, no report has been cited on the volatile
components of Citrus fruits grown in Kenya. The present
study was undertaken to investigate the volatile flavour
components of the peel essential oils of Salustiana,
Valencia and Washington navel sweet orange varieties
grown in Kenya.
Experimental
Materials
The Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel fruits
at their best harvest maturity were obtained from the
Boarstal farm of the Kenya Prisons Department, Shimo la
Tewa, Mombasa District, Coast Province. They were kept
at 2 °C prior to isolation of the peel oils, which was done
within a week of harvest. Analytical reference standards
were purchased from Fluka fine chemicals, Buchs,
Switzerland, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Osaka,
Japan and Aldrich Chemical Co., USA.
Isolation of peel oils
The peel oils were isolated by cold-pressing method as
described previously.12,13 The fruit mesocarp and albedo
layers were peeled off to expose the flavedo and its oil
ducts. The flavedo was maintained on ice and pressed
manually to express the oil. The expressed crude oil
was collected on ice and saturated with brine. It was
centrifuged at 2000 g for 15 min at −4 °C, filtered, dried
Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ESSENTIAL OIL OF KENYAN CITRUS SINENSIS 81
with anhydrous sodium sulphate for 24 h at 5 °C and
stored at −21 °C prior to analysis.
Gas chromatography
GC analyses were performed using a Shimadzu 14A
gas chromatograph (Shimadzu Corp., Kyoto, Japan) fitted
with DB-Wax fused silica capillary column (60 m ×
0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 µm film thickness; J&W Scientific,
Folsom, CA, USA) and flame ionization detector. The
oven temperature was programmed from 70 °C (iso-
thermal for 2 min) at an increasing rate of 2 °C/min, to
230 °C (isothermal for 20 min). The injector and detector
temperatures were each set at 250 °C. Oil samples of
0.5 µl were injected. The split ratio was 50:1. The carrier
gas was nitrogen at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. Relative
peak areas were integrated using a Shimadzu C-R6A
Chromatopack integrator (Shimadzu, Kyoto). The ana-
lyses were done in triplicates. Retention indices of the
separated compounds and the reference standards on the
DB-Wax column were determined based on a homolo-
gous series of n-alkanes (C9–C27).
Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
GC-MS analyses were conducted using a Shimadzu GC
17A coupled with a Shimadzu QP-5000 MS (Shimadzu,
Kyoto). Oil samples of 0.2 µl were injected. The GC
conditions were similar to those indicated above. The
mass spectra were obtained with an ionization voltage of
70 eV, ion source temperature of 250 °C and a scanning
time of 1 s over a range of 30–320 m/z. Identification of
the components was based on their mass spectra similari-
ties to those of standard compounds registered in the
NIST 62 and 107 spectral libraries of the GC-MS, and
confirmed by their retention indices relative to those of
standard compounds.
Results and Discussion
The Kenyan Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel
oranges were medium–sized Citrus fruits with average
weights of 211, 200 and 250 g, respectively. The peel
flavedo accounted for 13.2, 12.1 and 14.5% (w/w) of the
whole fruits, respectively. The yield of cold-pressed oil
(w/w) was 0.1% from each fruit. The volatile compounds
separated from the essential oils are listed in Table 1.
The components were further categorized into monoter-
pene hydrocarbons, aliphatic and sesquiterpene hydro-
carbons, carbonyl compounds, alcohols, esters, oxides
and epoxides, acids and unidentified compounds for
comparative convenience, as given in Table 1. A total
of 85 different volatile compounds were separated from
Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85
82 S. MUHOHO NJOROGE ET AL.

Table 1. Volatile compounds of Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel sweet oranges grown in Kenya

Number RI Compound Concentration (%)a Identification

Salustiana Valencia Washingtonb

1 930 Ethanol — * RI, MS

2 1021 α -Pinene 0.5 0.3 0.5 RI, MS
3 1121 β -Pinene * * * RI, MS
4 1131 Sabinene 0.1 0.2 0.2 RI, MS
5 1161 Myrcene * — * RI, MS
6 1179 α -Phellandrene tr — — RI, MS
7 1193 α-Terpinene 1.7 1.5 1.5 RI, MS
8 1231 Limonene 94.6 92.5 90.5 RI, MS
9 1235 β -Phellandrene — tr — RI, MS
10 1238 1,8-Cineole tr tr tr RI, MS
11 1256 (Z)-β -Ocimene — tr — RI, MS
12 1266 γ-Terpinene * — — RI, MS
13 1269 P-Cymene — — * RI, MS
14 1287 Terpinolene * * * RI, MS
15 1303 Octanal 0.2 0.2 0.3 RI, MS
16 1315 Unidentified — tr — —
17 1331 α -Pinene oxide — tr tr MS
18 1344 p-Menth-1-en-9-al — tr tr MS
19 1349 Unidentified tr tr tr —
20 1407 Nonanal * * * RI, MS
21 1415 Myrcene epoxide — tr * MS
22 1423 (E,Z)-2,6-Nonadien-1-ol tr * * MS
23 1431 3-(4-Methyl-3-pentenyl)-furan (perillene) tr tr tr MS
24 1447 (Ζ )-Linalool oxide — tr tr RI, MS
25 1451 (Ζ )-Limonene oxide — tr tr RI, MS
26 1465 (E)-Limonene oxide 0.1 0.3 0.4 MS
27 1469 (E)-Sabinene hydrate * tr * RI, MS
28 1481 (E)-Linalool oxide 0.1 0.2 0.2 MS
29 1484 Heptanol — tr tr MS
30 1488 δ -Elemene tr tr tr RI, MS
31 1492 β -Citronellal * tr * MS
32 1511 Decanal 0.2 0.2 0.2 RI, MS
33 1553 α -Cubebene * * * MS
34 1558 Linalool 0.4 0.5 0.5 RI, MS
35 1563 Octanol tr tr tr RI, MS
36 1568 Linalyl acetate * 0.1 0.1 RI, MS
37 1571 α -Cedrene * tr tr MS
38 1575 Unidentified * * 0.1 —
39 1607 Terpinen-4-ol * * tr RI, MS
40 1614 β -Caryophyllene tr * tr RI, MS
41 1622 Undecanal 0.1 tr tr RI, MS
42 1633 Aromadendrene — tr — MS
43 1640 Unidentified 0.1 0.2 0.2 —
44 1650 Dihydrocarveol * * * MS
45 1670 (E)-p-2,8-Menthadien-1-ol * * * MS
46 1683 Sabina ketone 0.1 0.2 0.2 RI, MS
47 1686 Neral * * * RI, MS
48 1691 (Z)-Piperitol * * * RI, MS
49 1707 α -Terpineol 0.1 0.1 0.1 RI, MS
50 1716 Dodecanal * * * RI, MS
51 1727 Germacrene D — * * MS
52 1737 Geranial 0.1 * 0.1 RI, MS
53 1744 (Z)-Carvone 0.2 0.3 0.5 RI, MS
54 1764 (E,E)-α -Farnesene * 0.1 0.1 RI, MS
55 1769 Geranyl acetate * tr * RI, MS
56 1794 Cumin aldehyde * * 0.1 RI, MS
57 1807 Perillyl aldehyde * * 0.1 RI, MS
58 1817 Carvone oxide * * * MS
59 1842 (Z)-Carveol 0.1 0.3 0.5 RI, MS
60 1849 (E)-Carvone * 0.1 0.1 RI, MS
61 1873 (E)-Carveol 0.1 0.2 0.3 RI, MS
62 1902 Perillyl acetate tr * * RI, MS
63 1923 Tetradecanal — * 0.1 RI, MS
64 1967 α -Limonene diepoxide — tr tr MS
65 2005 (Z)-Nerolidol — * — RI, MS
66 2010 (E)-Caryophyllene epoxide tr 0.1 0.2 RI, MS
67 2021 Perillyl alcohol * 0.1 0.1 RI, MS

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85
 ESSENTIAL OIL OF KENYAN CITRUS SINENSIS 83

Table 1. (Continued)

Number RI Compound Concentration (%)a Identification

Salustiana Valencia Washingtonb

68 2026 n-Nonanoic acid — 0.1 0.1 RI, MS

69 2094 Globulol — tr tr MS
70 2103 β -Elemol — * * MS
71 2107 Viridiflorol — * tr MS
72 2134 Cedrol — tr * RI, MS
73 2151 Eugenol — tr tr RI
74 2249 β -Sinensal — — * RI, MS
75 2271 Nerolidyl acetate * 0.1 0.2 MS
76 2286 (Z,E)-Farnesol tr * tr RI, MS
77 2304 α -Sinensal — tr tr RI, MS
78 2394 Undecanoic acid tr tr tr RI, MS
79 2408 Octadecanal tr tr tr RI, MS
80 2419 1,4,7,10-Tetraoxa-cyclodecane — tr tr MS
81 2431 1,4,7,10,13-Pentaoxa-cyclopentadecane tr tr — MS
82 2487 Dodecanoic acid — — tr RI, MS
83 2504 1,4,7,10,13,16-Hexaoxa-cyclooctadecane * * * MS
84 2563 Nootkatone * 0.1 * RI, MS
85 2686 Unidentified — — 0.1 —
Totals (56), 98.7 (73), 97.8 (72), 97.4
Monoterpene hydrocarbons (9), 96.9 (8), 94.5 (9), 92.7
Aliphatic hydrocarbonsc (2), tr (3), * (2), *
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbonso (5), * (7), 0.1 (5), 0.1
Aldehydes/ketonesc (16), 0.9 (18), 1.1 (19), 1.7
Alcohols and ethersc (15) 0.7 (22) 1.3 (21), 1.6
Estersc (4), * (4), 0.2 (4), 0.3
Oxides and epoxidesc (4), 0.2 (9), 0.7 (9), 0.8
Acids (1), tr (2), 0.1 (3), 0.1
Total oxygenated compounds (40), 1.7 (55), 3.4 (56), 4.5
Unknown (3), 0.1 (4), 0.2 (4), 0.3

a
Relative concentration, mean of triplicate determinations.
b
Washington navel.
c
Numbers in brackets refer to number of compounds and the un-bracketed values refer to their total percentage.
—, not detected. tr, detected but not quantified.
The asterisks indicate that peak area was more than 0.005% but less than 0.05%.
RI, retention index on DB-Wax column.
MS, identification was based on comparison of mass spectra.

the peel oils of the three sweet orange varieties. Among
them, 56 were found and identified in the Salustiana and
73 Valencia and 72 in Washington navel oils. The com-
ponents amounted to 98.7, 97.8 and 97.4% of the total
oil volatiles, respectively.
Monoterpene hydrocarbons
Monoterpene hydrocarbons constituted the most dominant
chemical group among the volatiles of Salustiana (96.9%),
Valencia (94.5%) and Washington navel (92.7%) peel
oils. Limonene was the most abundant compound, con-
stituting 94.6, 92.5 and 90.5% in each of the oils, respec-
tively. The high content of limonene in the Kenyan sweet
orange oils was in agreement with published reports on
various varieties of sweet orange peel oils of different
origins.5–11 The other prominent monoterpene hydrocar-
bons in each of the Kenyan oils were α-terpinene (1.5–
1.7%), α-pinene (0.3–0.5%), and sabinene (0.1–0.2%).
β-Pinene and terpinolene were present at less than 0.05%
in each oil, in accordance with reports on other sweet
orange oils.5,7 1,8-Cineole was present at trace levels in
each oil. The Salustiana oil contained γ-terpinene and
α -phellandrene, which were not detected in the other
two oils. γ-Terpinene is rarely present in sweet orange
oils.5–11 The compound could be used as a basis to distin-
guish the Salustiana oil from other sweet orange oils.
Myrcene has been reported as a prominent component of
several types of sweet orange oils.5,7 It constituted a minor
quantity (less than 0.05%) in the Kenyan Salustiana and
Washington navel oils, and was absent from the Valencia
oil. The variations in quantitative levels of the minor
volatile compounds among different types of sweet
orange oils could be attributed to differences of varieties
and environmental factors. Moreover, as previously indic-
ated, the influences of fruit maturity and sample prepara-
tion methods may contribute significantly to variations
of volatile compositions.5,12 The Valencia oil was distin-
guished from the other two oils by its unique possession
of β -phellandrene and (Z)-β -ocimene. These compounds
have been reported in trace quantities in some sweet

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85
84 S. MUHOHO NJOROGE ET AL.
orange peel oils of different origins.7 p-Cymene was
found only in the Washington navel oil as a minor
constituent.
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons
A total of five sesquiterpene hydrocarbon compounds
were found in each of the Salustiana and Washington
navel oils, and seven in the Valencia oil. The relative
amounts of these components were less than 0.05%
in Salustiana and 0.1% in each of the Valencia and
Washington navel oils. Among the constituents, (E,E)-α-
farnesene was the relatively notable. The others present
in the three oils were δ-elemene, α -cubebene, α-cedrene
and β -caryophyllene at minor levels, as reported for most
sweet orange oils of different origins.5–11 (E)-β-Farnesene,
reported as a prominent component of Ethiopian Valencia
and Hamlin peel oils,10 and valencene reported in sweet
orange oils from Florida,5 were not found in the Kenyan
samples. Germacrene D and aromadendrene were present
at trace levels in Valencia oil. The former compound was
also found in Washington navel oil and neither com-
pound was present in Salustiana oil. The variations in
occurrence of these sesquiterpenes could be used to
differentiate the respective oils.
Oxygenated compounds
A total of 40 oxygenated compounds were found in
Salustiana, 55 in Valencia and 56 in the Washington navel
oils, amounting to 1.7, 3.4 and 4.5%, respectively. The
compounds were categorized into carbonyl compounds,
alcohols and ethers, esters, oxides/epoxides and acids.
Carbonyl (aldehydes and ketones) volatile compounds
were relatively prominent, constituting 0.9, 1.1 and 1.7%
of Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel oils,
respectively. The aliphatic aldehydes, octanal, nonanal,
decanal, undecanal, dodecanal and octadecanal were
present in each oil. Among them, octanal and decanal,
constituting 0.2–0.3%, were the most prominent. Tetrade-
canal was relatively prominent in Washington navel oil,
and was not detected in Salustiana oil. Among the oils,
Washington navel had the highest amounts of octanal
and tetradecanal, while Salustiana oil had comparatively
the highest content of undecanal. The occurrence of the
aliphatic aldehydes in the Kenyan samples was in agree-
ment with reports on other sweet orange oils.5–11 Octanal
and decanal are usually the dominant aldehydes of sweet
orange peel oils.5,7 Hexanal and heptanol, reported as
minor constituents of some orange oils,14 were not found
in the samples. Octadecanal has not been previously re-
ported as a component of sweet orange peel oils. The
compositional variations of the aliphatic aldehydes among
the three oils could be used to distinguish the oils. The
Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
monoterpene aldehydes, geranial, neral, cumin aldehyde,
perilla aldehyde and citronellal were present at relatively
low levels (0.1% or less) in each oil, as in other sweet
orange oils of various origins.5–11,15 Both α-sinensal and
β -sinensal were present in the Washington navel oil.
Valencia oil contained α-sinensal while both compounds
were absent from the Salustiana oil. α-Sinensal, a
farnesene-type sesquiterpenoid,16 has been reported in
many sweet orange peel oils,5,7,9,11 and tangerine oil,6 at
concentrations less than 0.1% and contributes signifi-
cantly to the aroma of the fruits.6,7,17 (Z)-Carvone was the
most prominent ketone in each of the Salustiana (0.2%),
Valencia (0.3%) and Washington navel (0.5%) oils. The
observed levels were higher than reported for sweet
oranges of other origins (less than 0.1%).5,7,9 The other
ketones present in each oil at minor levels (0.1% or less)
were (E)-carvone, nootkatone and sabina ketone. Alcohols
and ethers amounted to 0.7, 1.3 and 1.6% of the Salustiana,
Valencia and Washington navel oils, respectively. Those
relatively prominent in each oil were linalool (0.4–0.5%),
(Z)-carveol (0.1–0.5%), (E)-carveol (0.1–0.3%), perillyl
alcohol (0.1%) and α-terpineol (0.1%). Linalool has usu-
ally been reported as the most prominent alcohol of
orange oils.5–7,9,11 The other alcohols present in the Kenyan
samples were (E,Z)-2,6-nonadien-1-ol, octanol, isothujol,
terpinen-4-ol, (E)-p-2,8-menthadien-1-ol, (Z)-piperitol,
(E)-sabinene hydrate, (E,E)-farnesol and dihydrocarveol
at concentration levels less than 0.05%. Among the oil
samples, Washington navel had the highest content of
(Z)-carveol, (E)-carveol and isothujol, while the Valencia
oil contained (Z)-nerolidol, a rarely reported sesquiter-
pene alcohol in sweet orange oils. Salustiana oil was
devoid of the sesquiterpene alcohols, globulol, β -elemol
and viridiflorol which were found in the other oils at
concentrations less than 0.05%. The terpene ether, 3-(4-
methyl-3-pentenyl)-furan (perillene) was found in each of
the oils in trace quantities. A total of four esters, linalyl
acetate, nerolidyl acetate, geranyl acetate and perillyl
acetate constituting less than 0.05, 0.2 and 0.3% in the
Salustiana, Valencia and Washington navel oils, respect-
ively, were found. Reports on the peel oils of several
types of sweet oranges have indicated esters to be either
lacking or constituting a minor quantity (less than
0.1%).5–11 Nerolidyl acetate has not been previously
reported in sweet orange oils. The oxides and epoxides
identified in the oils were (E)-limonene oxide, (E)-
linalool oxide, (E)-caryophyllene epoxide, α-pinene ox-
ide, myrcene epoxide, (Z)-linalool oxide, (Z)-limonene
oxide and α-limonene diepoxide. They constituted 0.2,
0.7 and 0.8% of the Salustiana, Valencia and Washington
navel oils. Although oxides and epoxides may occur
naturally in sweet orange oils, they could also be formed
readily by oxidation of the respective hydrocarbons and
alcohols under the influence of heat or acids during sam-
ple preparation, storage or analysis. The three acids found
in the Kenyan sweet orange oils, nonanoic, undecanoic
Flavour Fragr. J. 2005; 20: 80–85

and dodecanoic constituted a minor quantity (0.1% or References
less) in each oil. Nonanoic and dodecanoic acids were
not found in the Salustiana oil. The latter acid was also 1.
absent from Valencia oil. The aliphatic hydrocarbons
tentatively identified in the oils, 1,4,7,10-tetraoxa-
cyclodecane, 1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxa-cyclopentadecane and 2.
3.
1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxa-cyclooctadecane amounted to
0.1% or less in each of the oils. The former two oxa-
compounds were not found in the Salustiana and Wash-
4.
ington navel oils, and have not been previously reported
in sweet orange peel oils. The mass spectra of the three
cyclo-compounds are known to be nearly identical to 5.
6.
those of 1-decene, 1-pentadecene, 1-octadecene and the
primary alcohols which could also occur in the essential 7.
oils and cause a mix up in identification of the com-
pounds. One compound, accounting for 0.1% of the
Washington navel oil volatiles, remained unidentified. 8.
The volatile components of the Kenyan sweet orange
9.
peel oils are reported for the first time in this study.
Several new compounds not previously reported in 10.
sweet orange peel oils of other origins were found.
11.
Important variations of the volatile compositions among
the peel oils of the three sweet orange varieties were 12.
identified. The results could explain the perceived dif-
13.
ferences of the characteristic aroma of each of the
fruits and provide useful chemical quality information 14.
applicable for the improvement and utilization of various
15.
varieties of sweet orange fruits, based on the essential oil
compositions. 16.
Acknowledgements—We are grateful to the Association of International
Education, Japan, for the fellowship grant for foreign researchers to Dr 17.
Simon Muhoho Njoroge under the ‘Fiscal 2002 Follow-up Research
Fellowship’ that facilitated the performance of this work in Japan.
Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ESSENTIAL OIL OF KENYAN CITRUS SINENSIS 85
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