Petitgrain Sweet Orange

#### Orange Sweet, Petitgrain. Although not produced regularly on a commercial scale, this oil shall be briefly discussed in order to complete the subject on petitgrain oils. Admixture, contamination or adulteration of true petitgrain oil (from bitter orange trees) is possible and should be considered accordingly when petitgrain oils are evaluated. In certain areas where labor is not too expensive, and where there are distillation facilities at hand, a surplus of leaves from sweet orange trees, e.g. from the annual prunings, may be steam distilled. During the author's visits to Algeria between 1949 and *1956, *he was able to confirm that small lots of sweet orange leaves and twigs were collected to produce a locally distilled petitgrain (sweet orange) oil. The oil was used by the producer and his affiliated house in France. In Guinea, former French West Africa, the huge areas of sweet orange groves offer another source of leaves and twigs for distillation. Small and irregular lots of the oil are shipped from Guinea, mainly to France. **Petitgrain Sweet Orange **is an olive-greenish to green-orange colored, mobile liquid with a peculiar dry, almost bitter undertone after a brief and fresh topnote which is somewhat reminiscent of the topnote of petitgrain bigarade oil. The tenacity is not outstanding, and the odor changes rapidly and significantly during the evaporation on a perfume blotter. From an olfactory point of view (and a chemical viewpoint, too) the oil is inferior to Paraguay petitgrain oil, by far, let alone the petitgrain bigarade oil. Sweet orange petitgrain oil could serve as a perfume material in areas where other petitgrain oils are not available, and where sweet orange is abundant. Even so, the oil may not have any future beyond that of an academic interest. A number of publications on the subject have appeared from many of the sweet-orange- producing areas. It appears from these publications that the oil usually contains more than 50% monoterpenes. A terpeneless, acetylated sweet orange petitgrain oil has been produced experimentally, but this product did not show any significant advantage in use over a normal grade of terpeneless Paraguay petitgrain oil. In view of the above facts, it seems most likely that this oil will completely disappear from the perfume and flavor market.