GC/MS Analysis of Citrus aurantium L. Hydrolate and its Comparison with the Commercial Samples

The chemical composition of the Hydrolate of Citrus aurantium L. (Rutaceae) flowers (neroli) grown in Iran, and two commercial hydrolates were analyzed by GC/MS. Thirty compounds (90.3%) were identified in the Hydrolate by the use of laboratory apparatus, thirty-eight compounds (83.4%) in the Hydrolate from the traditional method and fifteen compounds (98.3%) in the industrially produced sample. The major compounds within the Hydrolate obtained in the laboratory were geraniol (26.6%), a-terpineol (20.7%), linalool (15.4%) and benzene acetaldehyde (5.5%). Linalool (44.1%), methyl anthranilate (11.8%) and cis-linalool oxide (6.1%) were found in high percentages in the Hydrolate from the obtained traditional sample. 1,8-Cineol (15.9%), linalool (13.8%) and a-terpineol (6.6%) were more than other constituents in the industrially obtained hydrolate.