NEROLI OIL Citrus × aurantium

According to the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, Kew), in the extract read on 21 September 2026, Citrus × aurantium L. is a name of rank “Species” with the status “Accepted”, placed in the family Rutaceae. In the essential oil of the flowers analysed by Sarrou et al. (2013), from mature trees of a single orchard in Thessaloniki (Greece) harvested in 2011, Table 1 gives “Linalool” at 29.14 ± 0.38 % of total peak area (Flowers column).

Which WCVP and IPNI records bear the name, and how is the name used by the sources linked to it?

The WCVP record of Citrus × aurantium L. carries the identifier 2723957, and its IPNI identifier is 59600-2. According to the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), in the response read on 3 October 2026 to the search “Citrus aurantium”, the identifier 59600-2 (“urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:59600-2”) is that of the name “Citrus aurantium”, authors “L.”, rank “spec.”, family “Rutaceae”. It is through this shared identifier, and not through IPNI (the IPNI entry read carries no name status), that the name “Citrus aurantium L.” written by Sarrou et al. (2013) is linked here to Citrus × aurantium L.

Which oil did Sarrou et al. (2013) study?

According to the abstract of Sarrou et al. (2013), the volatile constituents of the essential oil of the flower — designated “(neroli)” — of “bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.)” growing in Greece were studied by GC-MS, together with those of other parts of the tree.

Where and when were the flowers picked?

According to Sarrou et al. (2013), the different parts of mature “Citrus aurantium L.” trees were collected from the same orchard, in Thessaloniki (Greece), at 40°34'35’’ N 22°57'19’’ E, in 2011. Young and old leaves were gathered at the beginning of April, between 11:00 and 12:00 in the morning, and the flowers were picked “At the same time”.

How was the flower oil obtained?

Each part was subjected to hydrodistillation as soon as it was gathered. The essential oil content was determined with the European Pharmacopoeia apparatus (Clevenger-type). The flowers were hydrodistilled for 3 h, with a distillation rate of 3 to 3.5 mL/min. The hydrodistilled fresh mass was 150 g for the flowers.

The hydrodistillation of the flowers gave 0.12 % of oil (mL/100 g of fresh tissue), and Table 1 gives for the flowers an essential oil content of 0.12 ± 0.01 (%); the yields were estimated on the basis of the wet weight of the plant material (mL/100 g). This is a yield by volume on fresh mass. The essential oils obtained were then dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored at 4–6 °C. The authors report “A clear yellow volatile oil with a fresh sweet odor” from the hydrodistillation of the flowers, peel, young and old leaves; the sentence does not describe the flower oil separately.

How was the oil analysed?

The GC-MS analysis was performed on a DB-5 column, with a Shimadzu GC-17A gas chromatograph interfaced with a Shimadzu QP-5050A mass spectrometer, supported by the Class 5000 software. The GC-MS conditions were: injection at 260 °C, interface at 300 °C, ion source at 200 °C, EI mode at 70 eV, scan range 41–450 amu, scan time 0.50 s. The methods give two oven temperature programmes: (a) 55–120 °C (3 °C/min), 120–200 °C (4 °C/min), 200–220 °C (6 °C/min) and 220 °C for 5 min, and (b) 60–240 °C at 3 °C/min; carrier gas He, 54.8 kPa, split ratio 1:30. The relative content of each compound was calculated as a percentage of the total chromatographic area, and the results are expressed as means of triplicate experiments. Components were identified by comparing their retention indices, relative to C7-C40 n-alkanes, with literature data, and by matching (a) their spectra with MS libraries (NIST 98, “Willey”, Adams 1995) and (b) the retention time of co-eluting reference compounds (peak enrichment technique). According to the notes to Table 1, retention indices are calculated relative to C7-C40 n-alkanes on the DB-5 column, concentrations are percentages of total peak area, only components at 0.1 % or more are presented, and “±” is the standard error.

What does Table 1 of Sarrou et al. (2013) report for the flower oil?

According to Sarrou et al. (2013), in their “neroli oil”, twenty-six constituents accounted for 99.44 % of the oil. According to the same authors, oxygenated monoterpenes are dominant compounds of the flower oil (Figure 1a).

Each line below gives the compound under the name Table 1 writes, with its value in the Flowers column, in percent of total peak area (mean ± standard error), for this study only.

• Line 1, “α-Pinene”: 1.35 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 2, “Sabinene”: 2.01 ± 0.20 %.
• Line 3, “β-Pinene”: 19.08 ± 0.18 %.
• Line 4, “Myrcene”: 1.59 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 5, “Octanal”: the table writes “-”.
• Line 6, “3-δ-Carene”: 0.17 ± 0.00 %.
• Line 7, “Limonene”: 12.04 ± 0.16 %.
• Line 8, “cis-β-Ocimene”: 0.77 ± 0.02 %.
• Line 9, “trans-β-Ocimene”: 6.06 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 10, “γ-Terpinene”: 0.36 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 11, “Linalool oxide”, with no isomer specified: 0.29 ± 0.02 %.
• Line 12, “α-Terpinolene”: 0.47 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 13, “Linalool”: 29.14 ± 0.38 %.
• Line 14, “Terpin 4-ol”, as the table writes it: 0.68 ± 0.02 %.
• Line 15, “α-Terpineol”: 4.56 ± 0.05 %.
• Line 16, “Decanal”: the table writes “-”.
• Line 17, “Nerol”: 0.83 ± 0.02 %.
• Line 18, “Geraniol”: 4.31 ± 1.43 %.
• Line 19, “Linalyl acetate”: 3.88 ± 0.40 %.
• Line 20, “Methyl anthranylate”, as the table writes it: 0.19 ± 0.00 %.
• Line 21, “δ-Elemene”: 0.12 ± 0.00 %.
• Line 22, “Terpinyl acetate”: 0.20 ± 0.00 %.
• Line 23, “Neryl acetate”: 1.30 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 24, “Geranyl acetate”: 2.59 ± 0.04 %.
• Line 25, “β-Caryophyllene”: 0.42 ± 0.01 %.
• Line 26, “α-Humulene”: the table writes “-”.
• Line 27, “(E)-β-Farnesene”: the table writes “-”.
• Line 28, “δ-Germacrene”, as the table writes it: 0.13 ±0.01 %.
• Line 29, “Bicyclogermacrene”: the table writes “-”.
• Line 30, “(E)-Nerolidol”: 1.76 ± 0.03 %.
• Line 31, “(E)-Farnesol”, as the table writes it: 5.14 ± 0.02 %.

What does EU cosmetics regulation say about flower oils “amara” and “dulcis”?

According to Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, entry 350 added to Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 designates “Citrus aurantium amara and dulcis flower oil”, marked with note (*4), on two table rows: the first carries the INCI name “Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Oil”, CAS number 72968-50-4 and EC number 277-143-2; the second carries the INCI name “Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Flower Oil”, the CAS cell “8028-48-6/ 8016-38-4” and the EC cell, as written, “232-433-8/” then “-”. The second row does not match its two CAS numbers to its two EC entries one by one. The entry covers the “amara” and “dulcis” flower oils together; these designations are quoted as the regulation writes them, without taxon value. For this entry, the regulation requires that the presence of the substance or substances be indicated as “Citrus Aurantium Flower Oil” in the list of ingredients referred to in Article 19(1), point (g), when their concentration exceeds “0,001 % in leave-on products” and “0,01 % in rinse-off products”. Under note (*4), in the text of the regulation read on 22 September 2026, cosmetic products containing that substance that do not comply with the restriction(s) “may be placed on the Union market until 31 July 2026 and made available on the Union market until 31 July 2028”.

Which ISO 3517 standards does the ISO catalogue list?

According to the ISO catalogue for ICS class 71.100.60, ISO 3517:2012 bears the title “Essential oil of neroli (Citrus aurantium L., syn. Citrus amara Link, syn. Citrus bigaradia Loisel, syn. Citrus vulgaris Risso)”, falls under ISO/TC 54 and is at stage 90.93. In the same catalogue, ISO 3517:2002, titled “Oil of neroli (Citrus aurantium L. spp. aurantium, syn. Citrus aurantium L. spp. amara var. pumilia)”, is withdrawn (“Withdrawn”, stage 95.99) and falls under ISO/TC 54. The standard ISO 3517:1975, “Oil of neroli”, is marked “Withdrawn”, at stage 95.99, and falls under ISO/TC 54. The Latin names in these titles are quoted as part of the titles, not as synonyms.

References

• Govaerts R. (ed.), World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — https://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/wcvp.zip
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI), search « Citrus aurantium », consulted 03/10/2026 — https://www.ipni.org/api/1/search?q=Citrus%20aurantium
• Sarrou E., Chatzopoulou P., Dimassi-Theriou K., Therios I., « Volatile Constituents and Antioxidant Activity of Peel, Flowers and Leaf Oils of Citrus aurantium L. Growing in Greece », Molecules 2013;18(9):10639-10647, doi:10.3390/molecules180910639 — https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC6270488/fullTextXML
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 of 26 July 2023 amending Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards labelling of fragrance allergens in cosmetic products — https://publications.europa.eu/resource/celex/32023R1545
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO), online catalogue, ICS 71.100.60 « Essential oils », archived copy of 19/03/2026 (Internet Archive) — https://web.archive.org/web/20260319152944id_/https://www.iso.org/ics/71.100.60/x/