Backhousia Citriodora Oil

#### Backhousia Citriodora. An essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves of a wild growing tree, **Backhousia**** ****Citriodora**, in eastern and southeastern Australia. Although the oil has been known since late in the 19th century, it has never obtained great importance. The oil is a pale yellow or yellow mobile liquid of intensely fresh lemon-like odor with a pleasant sweet-green undertone. The main constituent is Citral which is present in amounts of more than 90%, occasionally up to 98%. This fact is clearly perceptible in the odor and flavor of the oil. In this respect, it bears some resemblance to the Chinese oil of **Litsea Cubeba**. As a source of citral, the essential oil of **Backhousia Citriodora **would be excellent if the oil were freely available in 100-ton lots. Its odor is much cleaner and fresher than **Lemongrass**** ****Oil,**** **and there are no grassy-fatty or harsh notes at all in the Australian oil. Even the amylacetate-like fruitiness of lemongrass oil is absent in Backhousia Citriodora. The Australian tree is not cultivated on more than an experimental scale, however, and it is inconceivable that the oil will ever become an important raw material. **Litsea**** ****Cubeba**** **oil may take over the job of providing a low-cost source for citral isolation if Lemongrass Oil is unable to keep up the competition. Oil of **Backhousia**** ****Citriodora **could be used in flavors for its unusually clean, lemon-like aroma. But here again synthetic citral is slowly replacing the isolated natural citral. For perfumes, the **Backhousia**** ****Citriodora**** ****Oil**** **will hardly be able to compete with a redistilled **Litsea**** ****Cubeba**** ****Oil**** **or with synthetic blends.