Identification of Secondary Metabolites in Citrus Fruit Using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy

This experiment targets undergraduate students in an analytical or organic instructional context. Using a simple extraction, this protocol allows students to quantify and qualify monoterpenes in essential oils from citrus fruit peels. The procedures involve cooling down the peels by immersing them i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of chemical education Vol. 85; no. 11; pp. 1555 - 1557
Main Authors Pelletier, André, Lavoie, Jean-Michel, Chornet, Esteban
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Easton Division of Chemical Education 01.11.2008
Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
Subjects
Aroma
Biochemistry
Calibration
Chemical composition
Chromatography
Citrus fruits
College Science
College students
Essential oils
Experiments
Fruits
Gas chromatography
Laboratory Experiments
Lemons
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Metabolites
Molecular Biology
Molecular Structure
Monoterpenes
Natural products
Organic Chemistry
Science education
Science Experiments
Science Instruction
Science Process Skills
Secondary metabolites
Spectroscopy
Students
Undergraduate Students
Collaborative / Cooperative Learning
Second-Year Undergraduate
Analytical Chemistry
Alkenes
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Summary:This experiment targets undergraduate students in an analytical or organic instructional context. Using a simple extraction, this protocol allows students to quantify and qualify monoterpenes in essential oils from citrus fruit peels. The procedures involve cooling down the peels by immersing them into icy water. After a few minutes, the chilled peels are pulped in a simple kitchen blender using acidic brine to hydrolyze the undesired fatty acids. Essential oils are extracted from the emulsion using methylene chloride and are then injected in a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer. Among the fruit tested—limes, grapefruits, and oranges—all showed a high concentration of (R)-limonene, a monoterpenoid commonly found in these fruits. Students are invited to quantify (R)-limonene in the extracts following an accurate 5-point standard calibration curve. For students, this experiment may be a first contact with the analysis of plant extracts as well as an introduction to the biochemistry of monoterpenes.
ISSN:0021-9584
1938-1328
DOI:10.1021/ed085p1555