Litsea Cubeba EO

Latin name :

Litsea cubeba

Botanical profile :

Litsea cubeba is a tree of the Lauraceae family and the genus Litsea

Geographic origin :

Originally from Asia, Litsea Cubeba is grown mainly in China, but also grows in the Himalayas and parts of India.

Chemotypes :

There are other species of the genus Litsea, and other plants known to be a source of natural citral, via their fruits:
The Litsea citrata also gives fruits whose essential oil can be extracted to obtain Citral. Although this EO is less produced than the Litsea cubeba EO. Citral and Citronellal can be extracted from the Litsea citrismella, Cinnamomum wilsonii and Cinnamomum insularimontanum fruits.
The fruits of Lindera neesiana, from Nepal, also give an essential oil rich in Citral. The leaves of this tree are rich in Estragol and Safrole and the branches are rich in Myristicin.

Extraction process :

The fruits of the Litsea cubeba tree have an olfactory interest for their strong citral composition.
The culture of Litsea cubeba is made at relatively high altitudes (beyond 1600 meters). The altitude has an influence on the composition of the essential oil and is the source of different chemotypes.
The fruits of the tree are picked by hand, crushed and dried before the hydrodistillation. Steam distillation is done on dried fruits, under pressure, in a distillation tank. At the end of the process, the essential oil is collected in a florentine vase by decantation of the water.
The extraction yield of Litsea cubeba varies from 3 to 8 ‰ depending on the variety and the place of cultivation.

Major Components :

Citral (65-70%)
D-Limonene (10-15%)
Eucalyptol (≈1%)
Linalool (≈1%)
Methyl heptenone (≈1%)
Alpha-Pinene (≈1%)
Citronellal (≈1%)
Beta-Caryophyllene (≈1%)