Essential oil composition and anti-inflammatory activity in wild citrus from northeast India

Citrus peel essential oil (PEO) is utilized in the food and juice processing, pharmaceuticals, and aroma industries due to various nutritional, pharmaceutical and cosmaceutical properties. In this study, the PEO of five wild Citrus species (Citrus medica, C. indica, C. latipes, C. hystrix, and C. cavaleriei) from northeast India, has been extracted using the hydro-distillation method. The oil yield varied from 0.02% to 0.32% (w/w). Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of citrus PEO showed the presence of 36 compounds in the range of 84.63–95.9%. Limonene was the major compound in the PEO, with the highest percentage in C. cavaleriei (80.86%), followed by C. hystrix (75.7%), medica (66.9%), C. indica (63.03%), and C. latipes (23.95%). Other compounds present in a considerable percentage were γ-terpinene (C. latipes, 16.86%; C. indica, 14.72%; C. medica, 6.73%), myrcene (C. indica, 5.34%), β-pinene (C. latipes, 9.49%), 3-carene (C. medica, 6.38%), (E)- β-caryophyllene (C. latipes, 6.07%), and neryl acetate (C. latipes, 6.10%). Anti-inflammatory assay of PEO in the five Citrus species revealed the highest anti-inflammatory activity in C. indica. The study suggests that wild citrus fruits can be an important source of limonene and other bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical and industrial applications. •The Essential oil and anti-inflammatory activity of five wild Citrus were studied.•Essential oil composition was estimated for the first time in Citrus indica.•Limonene was the major compound in the PEO of all the wild Citrus species.•PEO of Citrus indica showed the highest anti-inflammatory effect.