Biological lemon and sweet orange essential oil composition

The volatile fraction composition of sweet orange and lemon oils obtained using biological and traditional cultivation is reported. The oils came from Sicily and were industrially obtained. The aim of the research was to establish whether the use of pesticides in citrus cultivation could influence the essential oil composition. The volatile fraction was analysed by HRGC and HRGC-MS. The content of organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticides was determined by HRGC-FPD and HRGC-ECD. Differences in the oil composition resulted, especially in the content of carbonyl compounds; the results obtained, altogether, show that the biological oils are of higher quality in terms of their composition than traditional ones. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.