Citronellol is a kind of natural occurring acyclic monoterpenoid which can be found in citronella oils such as Cymbopogon nardus ((+)-citronellol) and rose oils and Pelargonium geraniums ((-)-citronellol). In addition to be extracted from natural oils, it can also be manufactured by the hydrogenation of geraniol or nerol. It is mainly used in perfumes and insects repellents as well as being used as a mite attractant. It should be noted that it is an excellent mosquito repellent at short distances. Combination with beta-cyclodextrin can make it has an average duration time of 1.5 hour against the mosquitoes. It can also be used for the manufacture of rose oxide. One of its most common applications is for adding floral and citrus notes to perfumes, soaps and cosmetics.
colourless liquid with a characteristic, rose-like, smell
Citronellol has a characteristic rose-like odor. Because odor plays such an important part in selecting this material,
there may be special grades of citronellol that do not meet the Essential Oil Association specification. These limits have been broadened
enough to include best qualities of commercial citronellol and chemically pure citronellol. l-Citronellol has a sweet, peach-like
flavor; d-citronellol has a bitter taste.
l-Citronellol has been found in the plants of the Rosaceae family; d- and dl-citronellol have been identified in
Verbenaceae, Labiatae, Rutaceae, Geraniaceae and others; citronellol has been reported in about 70 essential oils and in the oil of
Rosa bourbonia; the Bulgarian rose oil has been reported to contain more than 50% l-citronellol, whereas East African geranium
contains more than 80% of the d-isomer; the natural product is always optically active. Reported found in guava fruit, orange, bilberry,
blackcurrant, nutmeg, ginger, corn mint oil (Mentha arvensis L. var. piperascens), mustard, pennyroyal oil (Mentha pulegium
L.), hop oil, tea, coriander seed, cardamom, beer, rum, and apple juice.
citronellol is a constituent of plant essential oils. Found abundantly in eucalyptus oil. It is used for masking odor or providing a fragrance component to a cosmetic product.
rac-Citronellol is a monoterpene found in the essential oil of various plants with antihypertensive properties. It possesses hypotensive actions due to its vasodilator abilities and is a phytochemical used in perfumes and insect repellents.
Perfumery, flavoring agent.
ChEBI: A monoterpenoid that is oct-6-ene substituted by a hydroxy group at position 1 and methyl groups at positions 3 and 7.
By reduction of citronellal or geraniol or by fractional distillation of such essential oils as geranium and citronella (Bedoukian, 1967).
Detection at 11 ppb to 2.2 ppm; l-form, 40 ppb
Taste characteristics at 20 ppm: floral, rose, sweet and green with fruity citrus nuances.
Citronellol is a volatile monoterpenic primary alcohol mainly found in the essential oil of plants such as Pelargonium graveolens, Cymbopogon winterianus and Rosa damascena. It is also one of the glycosidically bound aroma compounds in ginger.
Flammability and Explosibility
Non flammable
Poison by intravenous
route. Moderately toxic by ingestion, skin
contact, and intramuscular routes. A severe
skin irritant. A combustible liquid. When
heated to decomposition it emits acrid
smoke and irritating fumes. See also
ALCOHOLS.
It is generally accepted to distinguish rhodinol as the product isolated from geranium consisting of a mixture of l-citronellol
and geraniol, whereas the name l-citronellol should be used to indicate the corresponding synthetic product with the highest
level of purity; dl-citronellol can be prepared by catalytic hydrogenation of geraniol or by oxidation of allo-cyrnene; l-citronellol is
prepared from (+) d-pinene via (+) cis-pinene to (+) 2,6-dimethyl-2,7-octadiene and, finally, isolating l-citronellol by hydrolysis of the
aluminum-organo compound.
Purify them bydistillation through a cannon packed (Ni) column and the main cut collected at 84o/14mm and redistilled. Also purify via the benzoate. [IR: Eschenazi J Org Chem 26 3072 1961, Naves Bull Soc Chim Fr 505 1951, Beilstein 1 IV 2188.]
https://eic.rsc.org/magnificent-molecules/citronellol/2000020.article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citronellol
