Analytical investigation of Sweetie peel oil

The peel oil of Sweetie, a cross between pummelo and grapefruit, was submit ted to gas chromatographic investigation and compared to various white and pink grapefruit oils. The GC-pattern of Sweetie is, at first sight, typical for grapefruit with a limonene content over 93% and only myrcene exceeding one percent. In the monoterpene hydrocarbon range however, the values for sabinene (0.8-1.0%) are considerably higher in Sweetie oils than in other c ommercial grapefruit oils (0.3-0.4%). Moreover, the important grapefruit fl avor compound nootkatone is only found in trace levels in Sweetie oil. Chir al analysis of a-pinene, limonene and linalool did not provide further char acteristics for the distinction to grapefruit oils, The sesquiterpene range of the germacrenes was investigated comparatively for various commercially available grapefruit peel oil varieties. The complete sequence of germacre ne A-D was verified for the citrus oils of Sweetie and pummelo.