Citral
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Citral is an acyclic monoterpene aldehyde. Being a monoterpene, it is made of two isoprene units. Citral is a collective term which covers two geometric isomers that have their own separate names; the E-isomer is named geranial (trans-citral; α-citral[1]) or citral A. The Z-isomer is named neral (cis-citral; β-citral[1]) or citral B. These stereoisomers occur as a mixture, often not in equal proportions; e.g. in essential oil of Australian ginger, the neral to geranial ratio is 0.61.[2]
Natural Occurrence
Citral is present in the volatile oils of several plants:[3][4][5]
Further, in the lipid fraction (essential oil) of Australian ginger (51–71%)[2] Of the many sources of citral, the Australian myrtaceous tree, lemon myrtle, Backhousia citriodora F. Muell. (of the family Myrtaceae), is considered superior.[6]
Uses
Citral is a precursor in the industrial production of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K.
Citral is also precursor to lycopene, ionone and methylionone.
Fragrances
Citral has a strong lemon (citrus) scent and is used as an aroma compound in perfumery. It is used to fortify lemon oil. (Nerol, another perfumery compound, has a less intense but sweeter lemon note.) The aldehydes citronellal and citral are considered key components responsible for the lemon note with citral preferred.[6]
It also has pheromonal effects in acari and insects.[7][8]
The herb Cymbopogon citratus has shown promising insecticidal and antifungal activity against storage pests.[9]
Food additive
Citral is commonly used as a food additive ingredient.[10]
It has been tested (2016) in vitro against the food-borne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii.[11]
See also
References
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