CHEMICAL CHARECTERIZATION OF VOLATILE OIL COMPONENTS OF CITRUS RETICULATA BY GC-MS ANALYSIS

Mandarin is a group name for a class of oranges with thin, loose peel, which have been dubbed kid-glove oranges. The loose-skinned mandarin orange (C. reticulate Blanco) is one of the most economically important and popular fruits in the world, constituting about 41% of the total citrus fruits produced in India. The main constituents of volatile oil is mixture of β-pinene, limonene and linalool α-terpineol, citropten, and an aldehyde tanageratin, citromitin, hesperidin and neohesperidin. The volatile constituents of volatile oil identified, % Area and RT of each constituent, are listed in table. Analysis of the isolate by GC and GC-MS resulted in the identification of fourteen components comprising 100 % of the total volatile constituents. With regard to flower parts volatiles, fourteen components (comprising 100%) were identified. The volatile oil was characterized by a high amount of monoterpene constituents (68.1%), monoterpenic hydrocarbons i.e. α-thujene(3.1%), α-pinene(4.2%), α-camphene(1.8%), β-pinene(10.8%) and Sabinene(0.9%),monoterpenic alcohol i.e. α-terpineol(0.8%), monoterpenic ketones.