article · Scientific Reports
Citrus processing generates substantial peel waste that can serve as a rich source of bioactive essential oils. An investigation of essential oils from five citrus species, Citrus aurantium, Citrus limon, Citrus paradisi, Citrus reticulata, and Citrus sinensis, examined their volatile profiles alongside their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. While limonene constitutes the dominant chemical component across all species, chemometric analyses differentiated the oils based on minor volatile constituents. Citrus reticulata essential oil displayed the strongest antioxidant performance, whereas Citrus limon oil showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms. Key bioactivity markers were identified as oxygenated monoterpenoids, notably linalool and geranial, along with specific hydrocarbon monoterpenes including alpha-pinene, p-cymene, and trans-alpha-ocimene. These findings provide a fingerprinting framework to guide the selection and standardisation of citrus peel oils for practical applications.
Citrus processing leaves behind vast quantities of discarded peel, creating waste management challenges. Transforming these by-products into high-value functional ingredients offers an environmentally sustainable approach to resource recovery. By pinpointing the specific chemical compounds responsible for antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, industry can better assess and standardise natural additives derived from agricultural waste to replace synthetic alternatives.
The research outlines an applied framework for standardising citrus peel essential oils as natural preservatives and antimicrobial agents, targeted at food preservation and related industries. The work identifies specific chemical markers that quality control specialists and product formulators can use to select suitable raw materials. Because testing was conducted at laboratory scale using chemical and antimicrobial assays, the technology remains at an early to applied testing stage prior to industrial-scale formulation and regulatory validation.
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Abstract Citrus processing in Morocco generates large quantities of peel waste, which are a valuable source of bioactive essential oils (EOs). This study aimed to characterize the volatile composition and evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of EOs from five citrus species ( C. aurantium , C. limon , C. paradisi , C. reticulata , and C. sinensis) using an integrated chemometric approach. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed limonene (58.2–88.4%) as the predominant component, while unsupervised chemometric analysis (PCA and HCA) discriminated species into distinct metabolic clusters based on minor volatile components. Biological evaluation showed that C. reticulata EO exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity (IC 50 = 0.81 ± 0.02 mg/mL), whereas C. limon EO demonstrated broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms (MIC = 0.78–1.56 mg/mL). Supervised OPLS-DA indicated that bioactivity was primarily associated with oxygenated monoterpenoids, particularly linalool and geranial, as well as the hydrocarbon monoterpenes α-pinene, p-cymene, and trans-α-ocimene, which emerged as key bioactivity-associated biomarkers (VIP > 1) rather than with overall hydrocarbon abundance. These results established a robust fingerprint-based framework for the selection and standardization of citrus EOs, highlighting their potential use as natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents in food preservation and related fields.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-67065-0
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