Essential Oil from Lime Peel (Citrus aurantifolia) Grown in Long an Province, Vietnam: Chemical Composition and Biological Activities

Abstract

The present study evaluated Citrus aurantifolia essential oil (CaEO) from lime peel grown in Long An province, Vietnam. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis identified six bioactive compounds, of which D-limonene (69.99%), β-Pinene (10.28%), and α-Pinene (13.08%) were the most abundant. Physicochemical properties, including relative density (0.9295), absolute density (0.9267 g/mL), acid value (0.5481 mg KOH/g), ester value (0.3123 mg KOH/g), and saponification value (0.8604 mg KOH/g), were determined. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH and ABTS assays, with IC50 values of 13.99 ± 1.84 and 1.52 ± 0.09 mg/mL, respectively, indicating significant free radical scavenging potential. The antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) was confirmed using the disk diffusion method. The inhibition zones were minimal (approximately 8 mm). In addition, CaEO exhibited a long-lasting aroma, making it suitable for industrial applications. These findings highlight the potential application of CaEO in food preservation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, providing a sustainable approach to utilizing lime peel waste.

Keywords

• Antioxidant activity
• Antibacterial activity
• Citrus aurantifolia
• Essential oil

References

1. 1. Hien Tran T, Tien Nguyen V, Phat Dao T, Duc Lam T, Quoc Toan T, Duy Nguyen T, et al. New direction in research on extraction of Citrus aurantifolia (Lemon fruit) essential oil grown in Mekong Delta - Vietnam via microwave-assisted hydrodistillation. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng [Internet]. 2019 Jun 1;542(1):012038. Available from: .
2. 2. Lopresto CG, Meluso A, Di Sanzo G, Chakraborty S, Calabrò V. Process-intensified waste valorization and environmentally friendly d-limonene extraction. Euro-Mediterranean J Environ Integr [Internet]. 2019 Dec 23;4(1):31. Available from: .
3. 3. Jiang M, Yang L, Zhu L, Piao J, Jiang J. Comparative GC/MS analysis of essential oils extracted by 3 methods from the bud of Citrus aurantium L. var. amara Engl. J Food Sci [Internet]. 2011 Nov 9;76(9):C1219–25. Available from: .
4. 4. Mohammed IO, Alrasheid AA, Hussein Ayoub SM. GC‐MS analysis and study of the antimicrobial activity of Citrus paradisi, Citrus aurantifolia, and Citrus sinensis peel essential oils as hand sanitizer. Drlica K, editor. Int J Microbiol [Internet]. 2024 Jan 2;2024(1):4957712. Available from: .
5. 5. Permadi N, Nurzaman M, Doni F, Julaeha E. Elucidation of the composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of essential oil and extract from Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle peel. Saudi J Biol Sci [Internet]. 2024 Jun 1;31(6):103987. Available from: .
6. 6. Rasool N, Saeed Z, Pervaiz M, Ali F, Younas U, Bashir R, et al. Evaluation of essential oil extracted from ginger, cinnamon and lemon for therapeutic and biological activities. Biocatal Agric Biotechnol [Internet]. 2022 Sep 1;44:102470. Available from: .
7. 7. Ivanov N V., Anikina DS, Navrov A V. Composition of essential oils in the peel of lemon, cv. tashkentskii, grown in protected ground in different natural and climatic zones. Russ J Plant Physiol [Internet]. 2024 Jun 13;71(3):94. Available from: .
8. 8. Freche E, Gieng J, Pignotti G, Ibrahim SA, Feng X. Applications of lemon or cinnamon essential oils in strawberry fruit preservation: A review. J Food Process Preserv [Internet]. 2022 Sep 9;46(9):e16526. Available from: .

9. 9. Long DM, Quoc LPT, Nhung TTP, Thy VB, Nhu NLQ. Chemical profiles and biological activities of essential oil of Citrus hystrix DC. peels. Korean J Food Preserv [Internet]. 2023 Jun;30(3):395–404. Available from: .
10. 10. ISO 279. International Organization for Standardization. Essential oils - Determination of relative density at 20°C. Geneva, Switzerland [Internet]. 1998. Available from: .
11. 11. ISO 1041. International Organization for Standardization. Essential oils - Determination of freezing point. Geneva, Switzerland [Internet]. 1973. Available from: .
12. 12. ISO 1242. International Organization for Standardization. Essential oils - Determination of acid value by two titration methods, manual and automatic. Geneva, Switzerland [Internet]. 2023. Available from: .
13. 13. ISO 7660. International Organization for Standardization. Essential oils - Determination of ester value of oils containing difficult-to-saponify esters. Geneva, Switzerland [Internet]. 1983. Available from: .
14. 14. Mahajan VK. Perfumes and associated allergens: A brief review. Cosmoderma [Internet]. 2022 Feb 23;2:21. Available from: .
15. 15. Quyen PT, Quoc LPT. Chemical composition and biological evaluation of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia L.) leaves essential oils. Rev Fac Nac Agron Medellín [Internet]. 2024 May 1;77(2):10743–50. Available from: .
16. 16. Biskup I, Golonka I, Sroka Z, Gamian A. Antioxidant activity of selected phenols estimated by ABTS and FRAP methods. Postep Hig Med Dosw [Internet]. 2013;67:958–63. Available from: .
17. 17. Carović-Stanko K, Orlić S, Politeo O, Strikić F, Kolak I, Milos M, et al. Composition and antibacterial activities of essential oils of seven Ocimum taxa. Food Chem [Internet]. 2010 Mar 1;119(1):196–201. Available from: .
18. 18. Saini RK, Ranjit A, Sharma K, Prasad P, Shang X, Gowda KGM, et al. Bioactive compounds of citrus fruits: A review of composition and health benefits of carotenoids, flavonoids, limonoids, and terpenes. Antioxidants [Internet]. 2022 Jan 26;11(2):239. Available from: .
19. 19. Benoudjit F, Maameri L, Ouared K, History A. Evaluation of the quality and composition of lemon (Citrus limon) peel essential oil from an Algerian fruit juice industry. Alger J Environ Sci Technol December Ed [Internet]. 2020;6(4):1575–81. Available from: .
20. 20. Uahomo PO, Kpaduwa S, Daniel C, Ezerioha CE. Characterization and comparative assessment of the essential oil from lime (Citrus aurantifolia) exocarp using maceration and soxhlet extraction methods. Sch Int J Chem Mater Sci [Internet]. 2023 Jul 22;6(06):126–34. Available from: .
21. 21. Miller JA, Thompson PA, Hakim IA, Chow HHS, Thomson CA. d-Limonene: A bioactive food component from citrus and evidence for a potential role in breast cancer prevention and treatment. Oncol Rev [Internet]. 2011 Mar 17;5(1):31–42. Available from: .
22. 22. Michaelakis A, Papachristos D, Kimbaris A, Koliopoulos G, Giatropoulos A, Polissiou MG. Citrus essential oils and four enantiomeric pinenes against Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res [Internet]. 2009 Aug 8;105(3):769–73. Available from: .
23. 23. Boelens MH, Jimenez R. The chemical composition of some mediterranean citrus oils. J Essent Oil Res [Internet]. 1989 Jul;1(4):151–9. Available from: .
24. 24. Kfoury M, Auezova L, Greige-Gerges H, Fourmentin S. Promising applications of cyclodextrins in food: Improvement of essential oils retention, controlled release and antiradical activity. Carbohydr Polym [Internet]. 2015 Oct 20;131:264–72. Available from: .
25. 25. Mollica F, Gelabert I, Amorati R. Synergic antioxidant effects of the essential oil component γ-terpinene on high-temperature oil oxidation. ACS Food Sci Technol [Internet]. 2022 Jan 21;2(1):180–6. Available from: .
26. 26. Budiarto R, Khalisha A, Sari DN, Ujilestari T, Wahyono T, Azmi AFM, et al. Antioxidant properties of lemon essential oils: A meta-analysis of plant parts, extraction methods, dominant compounds, and antioxidant assay categories. Chem Biol Technol Agric [Internet]. 2024 Sep 27;11(1):147. Available from: .
27. 27. Ben Hsouna A, Ben Halima N, Smaoui S, Hamdi N. Citrus lemon essential oil: Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities with its preservative effect against Listeria monocytogenes inoculated in minced beef meat. Lipids Health Dis [Internet]. 2017 Dec 3;16(1):146. Available from: .
28. 28. Floegel A, Kim DO, Chung SJ, Koo SI, Chun OK. Comparison of ABTS/DPPH assays to measure antioxidant capacity in popular antioxidant-rich US foods. J Food Compos Anal [Internet]. 2011 Nov 1;24(7):1043–8. Available from: .
29. 29. Ponce AG, Fritz R, del Valle C, Roura SI. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils on the native microflora of organic Swiss chard. LWT - Food Sci Technol [Internet]. 2003 Nov 1;36(7):679–84. Available from: .
30. 30. Asker M, El-gengaihi SE, Hassan EM, Mohammed MA, Abdelhamid SA. Phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity of Citrus lemon leaves. Bull Natl Res Cent [Internet]. 2020 Dec 19;44(1):194. Available from: .
31. 31. Han Y, Sun Z, Chen W. Antimicrobial susceptibility and antibacterial mechanism of limonene against Listeria monocytogenes. Molecules [Internet]. 2019 Dec 20;25(1):33. Available from: .
32. 32. Li YQ, Sun XX, Feng JL, Mo HZ. Antibacterial activities and membrane permeability actions of glycinin basic peptide against Escherichia coli. Innov Food Sci Emerg Technol [Internet]. 2015 Oct 1;31:170–6. Available from: .