Natural Citral
Natural citral is the acyclic monoterpene aldehyde 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal, C10H16O, molar mass 152.23, CAS number 5392-40-5, isolated from essential oils rather than made synthetically. It exists as two geometric isomers, geranial and neral, and commercial citral is a mixture of the two in which geranial normally predominates.
The compound is the principal carrier of lemon character in nature and is the reason litsea, lemongrass and lemon myrtle oils smell as they do. It is a pale yellow mobile liquid with an intense fresh lemon peel odour, and it is powerful enough that flavour dosing is measured in parts per million of the finished food.
Citral is very slightly soluble in water and miscible with ethanol, vegetable oils and most flavour solvents. It is chemically fragile, which decides how it is handled: in acidic aqueous systems it cyclises and rearranges to p-cymene, p-cresol and related off notes, giving the stale lemon character familiar from aged soft drinks, and in air it oxidises to geranic acid. Material is therefore stored cold under nitrogen and is often stabilised with a permitted antioxidant.
We source bulk Natural Citral from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Hunan. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear mobile liquid, free from suspended matter |
| Colour | Colourless to pale yellow |
| Odour | Characteristic fresh lemon, true to reference sample |
| Assay, total citral by gas chromatography | 95.0 percent minimum |
| Geranial to neral ratio | Approximately 60 to 40, declared per batch |
| Identification by infrared spectrum | Conforms to reference spectrum |
| Relative density at 25 degrees Celsius | 0.884 to 0.896 |
| Refractive index at 20 degrees Celsius | 1.4860 to 1.4930 |
| Acid value | 3.0 mg KOH/g maximum |
| Solubility in 70 percent ethanol | Clear solution in 3 volumes |
| Water content | 0.3 percent maximum |
| Non volatile residue | 0.5 percent maximum |
| Lead | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
Common Markets Grades
Natural citral is traded chiefly on assay and on isomer ratio. The standard flavour grade is 95 to 97 percent total citral with the geranial to neral ratio declared, usually falling somewhere near two to one, and grades at 98 percent and above are produced by further fractionation for applications where the residual terpene background is unacceptable.
Origin is the second axis. Litsea cubeba derived citral is the dominant Chinese production and the general purpose natural grade, while lemongrass derived citral is offered separately where a customer specifies that botanical. Synthetic citral made from isobutene and formaldehyde through the dehydrolinalool route is a much larger tonnage product globally but is a different item and cannot support a natural declaration. Beyond the neat material, antioxidant stabilised grades, dilutions in ethanol, triacetin or vegetable oil, and spray dried encapsulated powders on modified starch are all sold, the last chiefly for dry beverage powders where free citral would degrade.
Applications
- Lemon and lime flavours for soft drinks, where it is the principal character impact compound
- Citrus flavoured confectionery and chewing gum, usually in an encapsulated form to control degradation
- Bakery and dairy flavours in the lemon direction, including cheesecake and sorbet
- Tea and instant beverage powders, delivered as a spray dried encapsulate
- Alcoholic drinks and bitters requiring a fresh citrus lift
- Feedstock for the synthesis of vitamin A, ionones and methyl ionone
- Intermediate for citronellol, geraniol and menthol manufacture by selective hydrogenation
- Fine fragrance, where it provides a sharp citrus top note
- Soap, detergent and household perfumery in lemon accords
- Insect repellent and pest control formulations built on citrus terpenes
China Manufacturers of Natural Citral
Top Natural Citral manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States citral is generally recognised as safe for use in food as a synthetic flavouring substance and adjuvant under 21 CFR 182.60, and it holds FEMA GRAS status as a flavouring substance under FEMA number 2303. Material isolated from essential oils and sold as natural must meet the definition of a natural flavour in the food labelling regulations. The Food Chemicals Codex monograph for citral sets the purity expectations that most supply contracts reference.
In the European Union citral is an authorised flavouring substance on the Union list established under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 and carries a FLAVIS number in the aldehyde group, with no E number because flavourings are not assigned one. Citral is also a declarable fragrance allergen under the cosmetic products regulation, so its presence above the threshold must appear in the ingredient list of a cosmetic. The Joint FAO and WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has evaluated citral within the aliphatic acyclic terpenoid aldehyde group, and Codex flavouring guidance applies where national law adopts it.
Manufacturing Process
The starting material is litsea cubeba oil, steam distilled from the fruit of Litsea cubeba, which is typically 60 to 75 percent citral, or lemongrass oil where that botanical is specified. The oil is charged to a vacuum fractionation train, because citral decomposes at atmospheric boiling temperature and must be distilled at low pressure and short residence time. Wiped film or falling film evaporators are used ahead of the packed rectification columns for exactly that reason.
Light monoterpenes such as limonene and the lighter alcohols come off first, the citral heart cut is taken in the middle, and sesquiterpenes and resinous material remain at the base. Some plants run a chemical purification instead of or alongside distillation, forming the bisulphite addition compound of the aldehyde, separating it from the non aldehydic oil, then regenerating the citral with alkali, which gives a very clean product at the cost of yield. The finished heart cut is dried, polish filtered, dosed with antioxidant where the grade calls for it, and filled under nitrogen into lined drums held in cool storage.
