🍋 Citrus

LEMON Citrus × limon

Key Properties

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🍋 Accepted name 🍋 Cold-pressed oil: origin 🍋 Cold-pressed oils: analysis 🍋 Cold-pressed oils: composition 🍋 ISO standards 🍋 Hazards and regulation 🍋 References
Introduction
Citrus × limon (L.) Osbeck

Species

BinomialCitrus × limon
Accepted nameCitrus × limon (L.) Osbeck
POWO statusaccepted
FamilyRutaceae
GenusCitrus
IPNI identifierurn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60454758-2

Source: Govaerts R. (ed.), World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, accessed on 21/09/2026.

According to the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, Kew), in the extract read on 21 September 2026, Citrus × limon (L.) Osbeck is a name of rank “Species” with the status “Accepted”, placed in the family Rutaceae. The essential oil studied by Kačániová et al. (2024), named CLEO, was obtained by cold pressing the fresh pericarp of “green lemons” Citrus limon. In that sample, limonene was measured at 60.7 %.

Which name is accepted, and how does “Citrus limon” relate to it?

The WCVP record carries the identifier 2724178 and the IPNI identifier 60454758-2. According to the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), in the response read on 21 September 2026 to the search “Citrus limon”, the name “Citrus limon”, authors “(L.) Osbeck”, rank “spec.”, family “Rutaceae”, carries the identifier 60454758-2 (“urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60454758-2”). The IPNI identifier 60454758-2 is therefore shared by the WCVP record of Citrus × limon (L.) Osbeck and the IPNI entry “Citrus limon” (L.) Osbeck. The basionymStr field of that IPNI entry reads “Rutaceae Citrus medica L. var. limon L.”. In the same IPNI response, the name “Citrus limon”, authors “(L.) Burm.f.”, family “Rutaceae”, carries the identifier 941312-1 (“urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:941312-1”) and the nameStatus “isonym”.

How were the cold-pressed lemon oil samples obtained?

How was the CLEO sample of Kačániová et al. (2024) obtained?

According to Kačániová et al. (2024), the essential oil studied (CLEO) was obtained by cold pressing the fresh pericarp of “green lemons” Citrus limon. The source adds “which were obtained from” a company in Nitra, Slovakia, whose name is not reproduced here. The oil was isolated from the “Italian Feminello” variety and kept in darkness at 4 °C until analysis.

Which crude lemon CPEO did Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017) study?

Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017) use the abbreviation CPEO for “Cold Pressed Essential Oil”. According to Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017), the original material of their study consisted of CPEOs derived from the industrial processing of four Citrus species, including lemon, written “Lemon, C. limon (L.) Osbeck”; they were provided by a fruit-juice company whose name is not reproduced here. The industrial cold pressing that produced the crude lemon CPEO, sample C 04, is not described by the source. According to the authors, the four CPEOs studied were offered by a Greek fruit-juice company, whose name is not reproduced here.

How were the cold-pressed lemon oil samples analysed?

How did Kačániová et al. (2024) analyse the CLEO sample?

According to Kačániová et al. (2024), the chemical profile of the C. limon oil was analysed with a 6890 N gas chromatograph coupled to a 5975 B quadrupole mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies). For semi-quantitative determination, the percentage of each identified compound was assessed with a 6890 N gas chromatograph coupled to an FID detector (Agilent Technologies). Separation was carried out on an HP-5MS capillary column ((5 %-phenyl)-methylpolysiloxane; 30 m; 0.25 mm internal diameter; 0.25 µm film), with a 1 µL injection of a 10 % solution of the oil in hexane and helium 5.0 as carrier gas at 1 mL/min. The split/splitless injector, the MS source and the MS quadrupole were held at 280 °C, 230 °C and 150 °C; the split ratio was 40.8:1; spectra were acquired from 35 to 550 amu at an ionisation energy of 70 eV. The oven was programmed from 50 to 75 °C at 3 °C/min with a 4 min hold, from 75 to 120 °C at 5 °C/min with a 2 min hold, then from 120 to 290 °C at 5 °C/min, for a total run time of 57.33 min. Constituents were identified by comparing their mass spectra with the reference spectra of the library (Wiley7Nist), and their retention indices were checked against those of a series of n-alkanes; the notes to Table 1 give retention indices on an HP-5MS column (literature values and calculated values). The percentages of the components were calculated from the areas of their chromatographic peaks; in Table 1, “tr” denotes compounds identified at less than 0.1 %.

How did Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017) analyse the CPEO?

According to Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017), the GC/MS analyses were performed on an Agilent Technologies 7890A gas chromatograph fitted with an HP 5MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm film thickness), connected to an Agilent 5957C, VL MS detector with a Triple-Axis Detector system operating in EI mode, with helium as carrier gas (1 mL/min). The initial column temperature was 60 °C, raised gradually to 280 °C at 3 °C/min. Compounds were identified by comparing their retention indices (RI), obtained with various n-alkanes (C9–C24), and their EI mass spectra with the spectra of the NIST/NBS and Wiley libraries and with the literature; the identity of the indicated compounds was further confirmed by comparison with available authentic samples. Table 2 codes the identification method: a = MS, b = RI, c = comparison with an authentic standard.

What composition was reported for the cold-pressed lemon oil samples?

What composition did Kačániová et al. (2024) report for the CLEO sample?

Table 1 of Kačániová et al. (2024) gives the chemical composition of the “green” essential oil of Citrus limon, as percentages of the identified compounds. According to the authors, 45 volatile constituents representing 99.7 % of the essential oil were identified in this sample. The values measured in this single sample include:

  • limonene: 60.7 %
  • β-pinene: 12.6 %
  • γ-terpinene: 10.3 %
  • α-pinene: 2.6 %
  • sabinene: 2.4 %
  • geranial: 2.2 %
  • β-myrcene: 1.9 %
  • neral: 1.2 %

By class, Table 1 gives 97.8 % for monoterpenes, of which 92.4 % are monoterpene hydrocarbons. It gives 5.4 % of oxygenated monoterpenes: monoterpene alcohols 0.9 %, monoterpene aldehydes 3.4 %, monoterpene ketones “tr”, monoterpene epoxides “tr”, monoterpene esters 1.1 %. It gives 1.8 % for the sesquiterpene class and 1.8 % for the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon class. It gives 0.1 % of non-terpenic compounds: alkanes “tr”, alcohols “tr”, aldehydes 0.1 %, esters “tr”. The authors describe the CLEO sample as an essential oil of the limonene chemotype.

What composition did Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017) report for the crude lemon CPEO (C 04)?

According to Kapsaski-Kanelli et al. (2017), Table 2 gives the compounds of the Citrus samples as a percentage of total composition, with an RI (retention index) column and sample names that follow Table 1. The normalisation of these percentages is not specified by the source. Values given in Table 2 for the crude lemon CPEO (C 04):

  • α-thujene (RI 930): 0.6 % of total composition
  • α-pinene (RI 939): 2.3 % of total composition
  • β-pinene (RI 976): 10.5 % of total composition
  • myrcene (RI 991): 2.0 % of total composition
  • γ-terpinene (RI 1060): 10.4 % of total composition
  • neral (RI 1238): 1.2 % of total composition
  • lavandulyl acetate (RI 1290): 0.9 % of total composition
  • a line written “Citral” (RI 1320): 2.0 % of total composition
  • neryl acetate (RI 1362): 1.2 % of total composition
  • α-bergamotene (RI 1435): 1.0 % of total composition
  • β-bisabolene (RI 1506): 1.5 % of total composition

Which ISO standards carry the title “Oil of lemon”?

According to the ISO catalogue for classification ICS 71.100.60, the standard ISO 855:2003 is titled “Oil of lemon [Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.], obtained by expression”, falls under ISO/TC 54 and is at stage 90.93. In the same catalogue, the standard ISO 855:1981 “Oil of lemon, Italy, obtained by expression” is marked “Withdrawn”, at stage 95.99, and falls under ISO/TC 54.

Which hazards and regulatory data are documented?

References