 |
|
|
|
|
Bitter Orange Essential Oil
Bitter Orange is an evergreen tree up to 10m high with glossy dark green leaves and fragrant white flowers. Essential oil is produced by expression of the peel. Native to southern China and north-east India. The Bitter Orange and Edible Orange trees bear a great resemblance to each other, but their leaf-stalks show a marked difference, that of the Bitter Orange being broadened out in the shape of a heart
| Adulteration: |
Cold pressed Orange essential oil has a limonene content of about 95%, but the 10-fold oil has 80% and the 25-fold oil only 57%. In fact, limonene can decrease to 0.2% on total deterpenation, this raises other components to very high levels e.g. linalool becomes 28% and decanal 17%. This indicates that there are a wide range of possibe orange oils produced.
Numerous ways of adulterating orange essential oil persist: mixing with citrus oil terpenes, distilled bitter orange and othe citrus oils or addition of synthetic limonene to Bitter Orange oil is frequent, Terpeneless and concentrated bitter and Bitter Orange oils are blended in as well as distilled orange oil etc.. Antioxidants like BHT and BHA are frequently added to prevent oxidation and increase the shelf life. Bitter Orange oil is often used as a substitute for Bergamot oil.
|
| GRAS Status: | Bitter Orange oil has GRAS status |
Properties, Indications
and Uses: |
Properties: ()
Indicated for: ()
Uses: Dried orange peel is included in most pharacopoeias. Citrus aurantium was the most commonly used plant by Puerto Ricans. The maladies for which it was used included sleep disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, respiratory ailments and raised blood pressure (37).
|
| Toxicity: | LD50 - (oral) rat >5g/kg; (dermal) rabbit >10g/kg.
Irritation/Sensitisation - Nil at 8%. 3/200 dermatiris patients were sensitive to Bitter Orange.
Phototoxicity - High to low phototoxicity especially if used undiluted on the skin. |
| Perfumery Uses: | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
