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Effects of fruit maturity and drying on extraction yields and densities of essential oils from fresh zest of Citrus limon Eureka

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Abstract

Content of essential oils (EOs) obtained by a 3-h hydrodistillation of fresh and dried zests of Tunisian Citrus limon, Eureka variety, harvested on the same tree at two maturity stages was compared. EO extraction yield expressed as fresh weight was decreased from 1.62 ± 0.11% for immature green fruits (w/wf: weight EO/weight fresh zest) for immature green fruits up to 0.87 ± 0.04% for zests of fully ripped fruits. Drying fresh zests in the oven at 50 °C for 1, 3 or 7 h reduced weight by 25.2 ± 7.5%, 53.5 ± 8.5% and 73.4 ± 0.06%, respectively. These weight changes attributed to moisture losses were associated with a maximal EO loss of 73.9 ± 6.7% already after 1-h drying and significantly increased EO densities. As a consequence, extraction yields of 0.32–0.42% (w/wf) for EO from fresh zests of unripe fruits significantly increased up to 0.55 ± 0.08% (w/wd), 0.81 ± 0.15% and 1.44 ± 0.32 when expressed as dried zest weight after 1-, 3- and 7-h drying, respectively. This balanced study demonstrates for the first time that 80% of Citrus limon zests EOs are lost during the drying process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical and analytical support provided by Mrs. Nouha Attour and Mr. Yassine Mrabet.

Funding

The present work was supported by the Natural Substances Laboratory of the National Institute of Research and Physical-Chemical Analysis of Tunis, Tunisia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Substances Laboratory (NSL), Institut National de Recherche et d’Analyse Physico-chimique (INRAP), Pôle Technologique Sidi Thabet, 2020, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia

    Fatma B’chir

  2. Nutrition & Biochemistry, Bourg-Dessous 2a, 1814, La Tour-de-Peilz, CH, Switzerland

    Maurice J. Arnaud

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by B’chir Fatma, Mrabet Yassine and Attour Nouha. The first draft of the manuscript was written by B’chir Fatma, and all authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fatma B’chir.

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B’chir, F., Arnaud, M.J. Effects of fruit maturity and drying on extraction yields and densities of essential oils from fresh zest of Citrus limon Eureka. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-024-05803-y

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