Цвіт лимона

The lemon tree

A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some evidence suggests lemons originated during the 1st millennium BC in what is now northeastern India. Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the second century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome.

Volatile composition of the flowers

Limonene is the dominant compound in the flowers of Citrus limon (36.5%) in samples from Hatay, Türkiye. In the same samples the lemon flowers also contained β-pinene (11.5%), E-citral (6.6%), β-ocimene (5.8%) and caryophyllene (4.7%). Together with the leaves of Citrus reticulata, the flowers of Citrus limon had the highest amount of total monoterpenes among the five species examined. The dominant components of lemon leaves were limonene (22.5%), E-citral (18.7%) and β-pinene (13.8%). The leaves and flowers of the citrus species gathered in Hatay were an important source of limonene and linalool.

Citrus flowers show a volatile profile different from that of the rind, and limonene is not always their major compound. Depending on the species, linalool, β-myrcene or β-citronellol may be the most prominent compounds of the flowers. Many volatile compounds of the peel have also been reported in citrus blossom and neroli, among them limonene, linalool and geraniol.

Lemon neroli and whole flowers

The neroli of C. limon differs in composition from the whole flowers: it is richer in monoterpenes such as limonene, while the whole flowers are richer in alcohol monoterpenoids such as linalool.

Compared with the rind oil

In the essential oil of citrus rinds, limonene generally represents about 60-95% of the oil, but in C. limon it can decrease down to 48%. Of the commonly studied Citrus species, lemon has the essential oil that differs most in its volatiles.

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