Gc-Mass Analysis of Bitter Orange Petitgrain Bigarade Oil Produced in Egypt and Stored Under Different Temperatures

Abstract

Identification of bitter orange petitgrain bigarade oil produced in Egypt was studied by GC/MS on carbowax-20M colum. It was found that linalyl acetate, which represented more than 25% of the whole oil was considered to be the major component of ester fraction; while linalool, which ranged from (30-33.7%) was the main alcohol components. On the other hand, limonene, (E)-β-ocimene,myrcene and β-pinene were the highest monoterpene hydrocarbons. Room temperature (about 20°C), 4 and-18°C were used for storing the samples for 6 mounths. No pronounced effect was noticed on the composition of petitgrain oil with the exception of slight effect on the color, acid number and solubility (v/v 70% alcohol) when samples stored at 20°C. Statistical analyses proved that 4 ºC could be considered the best fit temperature at which no significant changes occur in both the major chemical analyses and the main identified volatile constituents.