Study on essential oils from four species of Zhishi with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Background: Citrus fruits are widely used as food and or for medicinal purposes, and they contain a host of active substances that contribute to health. The immature fruits of Citrus sinensis Osbeck and its cultivars (CS), C. junos Sieb. ex Tanaka (CJ), C. aurantium L. and its cultivars (CA) and Poncirus trifoliate Raf. (PT) are the most commonly used medicinal herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine, called Zhishi. And their mature fruits can be used as food. Results: In this study, the essential oils of four different Zhishi species were extracted by steam distillation and detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 39 volatiles from the four species were tentatively identified. The limonene was the most abundant amongst the four species. Principal component analysis (PCA) of essential oils showed a clear separation of volatiles among CS, CJ and PT. However, CA could not be separated from these three species. Additionally, the volatiles accounting for the variations among the widely separated species were characterized through their corresponding loading weight. Conclusion: Sesquiterpenes were identified as characteristic markers for PT. The content of some monoterpenes could be as taxonomic markers between CS and CJ. This work is of great importance for the evaluation and authentication of Zhishi samples through essential oils.