Quantitative Analysis of Nootkatone in Essential Oil by HPLC

Yaniv Linde, Prigat, Givat Haim, Israel (yaniv.linde@mail.huji.ac.il)

Nootkatone is an ingredient that is found naturally in grapefruit and certain other plants. It is responsible for the characteristic scent and flavor of grapefruit. Nootkatone is a naturally occurring sesquiterpenoid.

It was first isolated from the heartwood of Alaska cedar .

Due to its unique organoleptic characteristics, its demand is increasing for the food and fragrance applications. In addition to its application as a flavoring agent, the pharmacological importance of nootkatone has also been reported. It has shown inhibitory effects on CYP450s enzymes. Another potential application of nootkatone is identified as insecticidal. The level of nootkatone in a grapefruit oil is regarded as an indication of oil quality noted an increase in nootkatone content in grapefruit oil as the fruit matured and reported a range of 0.3-0.8% nootkatone in mature oil samples.

Here we presented a new analysis method for Nootkatone by HPLC.