Evaluation of the process for transferring limonene from lemon to olive oil

Abstract

Lemon-flavored olive oil is one of several popular flavored oils on the market. This study aimed to examine the amount of limonene, an abundant aroma compound in lemon, that is transferred from lemon to olive oil under different flavoring conditions. First, the presence of limonene in different parts of fresh lemon tissue (flavedo, albedo, and tissues other than flavedo and albedo) was examined in olive oils flavored with each tissue. Limonene was found to be mainly distributed in the flavedo. Effects of extraction time, temperature, and quantity of the flavedo added were determined as independent variables. Results indicated that the extraction time and temperature influenced the amount of limonene transferred. In particular, the addition of increasing quantities of flavedo resulted in significant increases in the amounts of limonene transferred without increasing the oxidative degradation of the oil samples. We determined the optimal conditions for lemon-flavored olive oil preparation based on the amounts of limonene transferred.