Citrus Fruits

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1. INTRODUCTION
The genus Citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae or Rue family, comprises of about 140 genera and 1,300 species. Citrus sinensis (Orange), Citrus paradise (Grapefruit), Citrus limon (Lemon), Citrus reticulate (tangerine), Citrus grandis (shaddock), Citrus aurantium (sour orange), Citrus medica (Citron), and Citrus aurantifolia (lime) are some important fruits of genus Citrus. Citrus are well known as one of the world’s major fruit crops that are produced in many countries with tropical or subtropical climate (Darjazia, 2014). Brazil, USA, Japan, China, Mexico, Pakistan, and countries of the Mediterranean region, are the major Citrus producers. (Kamal et al., 2011).

Citrus fruits are among the most popular fruits (Shahidi and Zhong, 2005) and have a strong commercial value (Palazzolo et al., 2013). The fruits are both consumed fresh and industrially processed. The pulps, …show more content…

They are widely used as flavouring agent for drinks, ice cream, cakes, air-freshners, household products and perfumes (Hosni et al., 2010). Citrus peel essential oils are reported to be one of the rich sources of bioactive compounds namely coumarins, flavonoids, carotenes, terpenes and linalool etc. (Kamal et al., 2011). Moreover, citrus essential oils have been classified as generally recognised as safe (GRAS) due to their wide spectrum of biological activities such as antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anxiolytic. Due to their great nutraceutical and economic importance, numerous investigations have been performed aimed at identifying the chemical composition of the essential oils from peel and leaves of different Citrus species. It is interesting to note that the chemical composition of citrus peel and leaf oils is particularly prone to quantitative and quantitative changes due to genotype, origin, climate, season, ripening stage, etc. (Hosni et al.,

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