citral

American  

[si-truhl] / ˈsɪ trəl /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a pale yellow, water-insoluble, liquid aldehyde, C 10 H 16 O, having a strong lemonlike odor, consisting in natural form of two isomers citral a, or geranial, and citral b, or neral, usually obtained from the oils of lemon and orange or synthetically: used chiefly in perfumery, flavoring, and the synthesis of vitamin A.

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citral British  

/ ˈsɪtrəl /

noun

1. a yellow volatile liquid with a lemon-like odour, found in oils of lemon grass, orange, and lemon and used in perfumery: a terpene aldehyde consisting of the cis- isomer ( citral-a or geranial ) and the trans- isomer ( citral-b or neral ). Formula: (CH 3 ) 2 C:CH(CH 2 ) 2 C(CH 3 ):CHCHO

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Etymology

Origin of citral

First recorded in 1890–95; citr(us) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Another flavor component, citral, makes lemons taste lemony.

From New York Times

The citral in lemons is chemically the same as citral derived from lemongrass and lemon myrtle, both of which are labeled “natural.”

From New York Times

The oil contains eugenol, myrcene, chavicol, methyl eugenol, methyl chavicol, phellandrene, and citral.

From Project Gutenberg

The principal constituents of the oil are limonene and citral, together with small quantities of pinene, phellandrene, octyl and nonyl aldehydes, citronellal, geraniol, geranyl acetate, and the stearopten, citraptene.

From Project Gutenberg

Its most important constituent is citral.

From Project Gutenberg