ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF PEEL ESSENTIAL OILS OF THREE PAKISTANI CITRUS SPECIES: CITRUS RETICULATA, CITRUS SINENSIS AND CITRUS PARADISII

Citrus peel essentials oils are a very important source of natural antioxidants. In the present study the essential oils isolated from peels of three Citrus species namely Citrus reticulate, Citrus sinensis and Citrus paradisii were studied for their antioxidant potential. The hydro-distilled essential oil content from peels of C. reticulata, C. sinensis and C. paradisii were 0.30, 0.24 and 0.20 g/100g, respectively. The maximum amount of essential oil was found in C. reticulata while the minimum in C. paradisii peel samples. The essential oils isolated by hydro distillation were characterized using GC and GC/MS. The antioxidant activity of the investigated essential oils was evaluated by testing their ability to scavenge 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, percent inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and bleachability of beta-carotene in linoleic acid system. A significant difference was noticed in the antioxidant activities of the studied essential oils.