Abstract:
The aim of this study was to investigate the time interval in which we can get maximum concentration of essential oil from the peels of Citrusjambhiri Lush and Citrus reticulata Blanco, to determine the composition of peel oils and to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of extracted oils. It was observed that in case of Citrusjambhiri Lush maximum oil yield (l %) was obtained when fruits were immature (during October). As the fruit samples got matured, the oil yield decreased. In December the oil yield decreased to 0.2 %. In case of Citrus reticulata Blanco maximum oil yield (0.189 %) was obtained during the last week of January. Chemical analysis of essential oils showed that limonene was the most abundant compound (86 %-93 %) followed by aterpinene (2 %-4.5 %), ß-pinene(l %-2 %) and nerol (0.5 %-1.5 %). The radical scavenging and antioxidant activities of essential oils were determined by DPPH and linoleic acid test. The essential oil of Citrus jambhiri Lush inhibited the oxidation of linoleic acid by 54.98 % and that of C.itrus reticulata Blanco inhibited by 49.98 %. Moreover, the essential oils also showed antimicrobial activities against the tested microorganisms.
