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Citral

RESTRICTION
CAS
5392-40-5
EC
Material type
other
Canonical source
document derived
Formulation

Usage guidance

Suggested min
Suggested max
Cost
Stock
Compatibility tags
citrus-colognefougerefresh-floralchypre
How it behaves

Olfactory profile

Family
citrus
Note tendency
Top
Descriptors
lemon

Intensely lemony, sharp and zesty with a bright, almost metallic citrus tang. The opening is piercing and slightly aldehydic, evolving into a drier, greener lemon-peel character with a faint soapy edge.AI · claude-opus-4-7

Intensity
8 / 10
Tenacity
3 / 10
Volatility
9 / 10
Reverse-composition

Contained in

Other ingredients whose composition declares this material as a constituent. The percentage shown is the supplier-declared concentration in that parent.

chemicals · No. 649

Arctander monograph

Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, page 272.

tenacity · lowpower · moderateG.R.A.S.FEMA 2303
lemon
MW
152.24
BP
228°C
MP
Sp.Gr.
0.89
Refractive n
Rotation
Appearance

Colorless liquid.

Solubility

Insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, miscible with most perfume and flavor oils.

Odor

Widely used as a powerful lemon-fragrance chemical, but suffers from poor stability in many types of functional products.

Flavor

Very commonly used in flavor compositions. Used in imitation apple, cherry, ginger, grape, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, spice, strawberry and even in vanilla.

Uses in perfumery

Accordingly, its use is somewhat restricted and there is a low limit of concentration of Citral for most perfumes.

Uses in flavor

Concentration is normally about 40 ppm in the finished product, but can be up to 150-170 ppm in chewing gum.

Production

Produced from many methods

Document-derived

IFRA restrictions

CategoryKindMax %NotesSource
Category 1Max %0.11%
DOC
Category 2Max %0.032%
DOC
Category 3Max %0.1%
DOC
Category 4Max %0.6%
DOC
Category 5AMax %0.15%
DOC
Category 5BMax %0.15%
DOC
Category 5CMax %0.15%
DOC
Category 5DMax %0.051%
DOC
Category 6Max %0.35%
DOC
Category 7AMax %0.2%
DOC
Category 7BMax %0.2%
DOC
Category 8Max %0.051%
DOC
Category 9Max %1.2%
DOC
Category 10AMax %1.2%
DOC
Category 10BMax %4.2%
DOC
Category 11AMax %0.051%
DOC
Category 11BMax %0.051%
DOC
Category 12No restrictionNo Restriction
DOC

Compliance-support only. Values resolved from the current IFRA corpus; each row cites the document excerpt it came from. Not a substitute for a qualified safety assessor.

IFRA Annex I

Found naturally in

Natural complex substances (NCSs) in which this material typically occurs.

NCSBotanicalTypical %
Lemongrass oil, East IndianCymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steudel) Will. Watson73%
Litsea cubeba oilLitsea Cubeba(Lour.) Pers.69%
Melissa oil (genuine Melissa officinalis L.)Melissa officinalis L.58%
Lemon oil terpenelessCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.40%
Verbena oil and absolute (Lippia citriodora Kunth.)Lippia citriodora (L.) Kunth25.6%
Petitgrain lemon oilCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.23%
Lime oil. expressed folded (2-5X)Citrus aurantifolia (Christman) Swingle20%
Lemon oil cold pressedCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.12%
Mandarin oil, terpenelessCitrus reticulata Blanco10.5%
Kumquat oil, Fortunella margaritaFortunella (Lour.) Swingle10%
Orange peel oil, bitter, terpene-freeCitrus aurantium L. spp. Amara Link10%
Tangerine oil terpenelessCitrus reticulata blanco10%
Lime oil, cold pressed, furocoumarin freeCitrus aurantifolia (Christman) Swingle7%
Citron oilCitrus medica L.5%
Meyer lemon oil. cold pressedCitrus x meyerii5%
Orange peel oil, sweet terpenelessCitrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck5%
Ginger Oil (Root)Zingiber officinale Rosc.2.8%
Lemon oil, furocoumarin freeCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.2.1%
Eucalyptus radiata oilEucalyptus radiata Sieber ex DC oil1.5%
Rose oilRosa x damascena Mill.1.4%
Grapefruit oil, foldedCitrus paradisi Macf.1.2%
Lemongrass oil terpenesCymbopogon spp.1%
Citronella oil, Ceylon typeCymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle0.8%
Bergamot oil expressedCitrus bergamia (Risso) Wright & Arn.0.7%
Cyperus articulatus oilCyperus articulatus L.0.7%
Lemon extractCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.0.7%
Petitgrain Bigarade OilCitrus aurantium L. spp. Amara Link0.65%
Palmarosa OilCymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) Wats0.6%
Lemon oil, terpenesCitrus limon (L.) Burm. f.0.51%
Geranium oilPelargonium graveolens l'Hertier ex Aiton0.5%
Geranium oil, terpene-freePelargonium graveolens l'Hertier ex Aiton0.5%
Bergamot oil, furocoumarin freeCitrus bergamia (Risso) Wright & Arn.0.43%
Cardamom seed extractElettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton0.35%
Origanum oil (extractive)Thymus capitatus L. Hoffmanns & Link0.3%
Lime oil, terpenelessCitrus aurantifolia (Swingle)0.22%
Lime Oil, ExpressedCitrus aurantifolia (Swingle)0.2%
Marjoram oil, SpanishOriganum mastichina L.0.2%
Orange flower oil, bitter (neroli and neroli bigarade)Citrus aurantium L. spp. Amara Link0.2%
Petitgrain mandarin oil terpenelessCitrus reticulata Blanco0.16%
Orange oil, sweet, psoralen-freeCitrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck0.15%
Orange essence oilCitrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck0.15%
Bergamot oil terpenesCitrus bergamia (Risso) Wright & Arn.0.1%
Grapefruit OilCitrus paradisi Macf.0.1%
Bitter Orange Peel Oil ExpressedCitrus aurantium L. spp. Amara Link0.1%
Murcote oil, expressedCitrus reticulata spp. murcote, Swingle0.1%
Tangelo oil, expressedCitrus x tangelo Ingram and Moore0.1%
Tangerine OilCitrus reticulata blanco0.1%
Lime oil terpenesCitrus aurantifolia (Swingle)0.05%
Rose AbsoluteRosa x damascena Mill.0.05%
Cassie absoluteVachellia farnesiana (L.) Willd.0.03%
Citrus junos oilCitrus junos Siebold ex. Tanaka ichangensis × reticulata var. austera (reticulata var. austera) (Rutaceae)0.01%
Identity
Aliases · 12
106-26-3141-27-55392-40-5Citral3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienal3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienalcis-beta-CitralGeranialGeranial (trans-citral)LemaromeNeraltrans-alpha-Citral
Compliance note. Restriction data is sourced directly from IFRA publications and preserved with its document excerpt. Perfume Foundry is a compliance-support tool — not a substitute for a qualified safety assessor (CPSR / PIF).