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

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 • Oct. 20, 2015

Another flavor component, citral, makes lemons taste lemony.

From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2015

The most important are geraniol, citronellol, phenyl ethyl alcohol, together with nerol, linalol, citral, nonylic aldehyde, eugenol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, and the paraffin stearopten.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.

These consist chiefly of linalol, geraniol, linalyl acetate, methyl anthranilate, and citral.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.

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

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.