Citronellal or rhodinal ( C₁₀ H₁₈ O) is a mono

terpenoid The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic compound, organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeabl ...

aldehyde In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () (lat. ''al''cohol ''dehyd''rogenatum, dehydrogenated alcohol) is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred ...

, the main component in the mixture of terpenoid

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s that give

citronella oil Citronella oilCitronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of '' Cymbopogon'' (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geran ...

its distinctive lemon scent. Citronellal is a main isolate in distilled oils from the plants ''

Cymbopogon ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the Poaceae, grass famil ...

'' (excepting C. citratus, culinary lemongrass), lemon-scented gum, and lemon-scented teatree. The (''S'')-(−)-

enantiomer In chemistry, an enantiomer (Help:IPA/English, /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''ih-NAN-tee-ə-mər''), also known as an optical isomer, antipode, or optical antipode, is one of a pair of molecular entities whi ...

of citronellal makes up to 80% of the oil from

kaffir lime ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime, Thai lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and cr ...

leaves and is the compound responsible for its characteristic aroma. Citronellal has insect repellent properties, and research shows high repellent effectiveness against mosquitoes. Another research shows that citronellal has strong antifungal qualities.

Compendial status

British Pharmacopoeia The ''British Pharmacopoeia'' (''BP'') is the national pharmacopoeia of the United Kingdom. It is an annually published collection of quality standards for medicinal substances in the UK, which is used by individuals and organisations involve ...

References

{{reflist Flavors Alkenals Monoterpenes

Compendial status

See also

References