Synephrine content of juice from Satsuma mandarins (Citrus unshiu Marcovitch)

Synephrine, the main protoalkaloid in Citrus species, is commonly analyzed as the active component in citrus peel-containing herbal supplements, but the edible parts of mandarins have been largely ignored. The synephrine concentration has been determined in the juices of Citrus unshiu mandarins harvested from 10 different groves located in a major growing region in California. For comparison, the physicochemical properties of the juices, including pH, conductivity, soluble solids content, and titratable acidity, were also measured. The synephrine values among 10 groves ranged from 73.3 to 158.1 mg L-1. Repeat sampling of fruit from the 10 locations showed that the intragrove variability in synephrine concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 27.7% CV and was grove dependent. Among the physicochemical properties, titratable acidity weakly correlated with synephrine, and for one sample a low maturity index was linked to high synephrine content. The overall mean synephrine concentration of 92.8 mg L-1 is up to 6-fold higher than values previously determined for orange juices and suggests that mandarin juice could constitute a significant dietary source of synephrine. Furthermore, the results suggest that grove location and maturity affect synephrine content.