LAUSR

This study was conducted to provide additional information about the phytochemical and the bioactive patterns of the lipophilic fraction of citrus fruits using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and reversed-phase-liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detector (RP-HPLC). The recovered oils were rich in α-linolenic and palmitic acids. The concentration of total tocopherols and phytosterols varied significantly among Citrus species, where the highest amount was detected in C. reticulata and C. aurantium indicating that these species could be exploited as a natural and cheap source of bioactive molecules. C. limon exhibited the highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Both quantitative and qualitative difference of these lipophilic compounds and their bioactive potentialities contributed to the differentiation of the studied species and thus, could be useful as chemotaxonomic markers. The trait-to-trait correlations contributed to identify a set of potential metabolites that could be implicated in the observed biological activity. The integration of the results of the phytochemical and bioactive patterns provides extra-information on Citrus species and can also be applied for future investigations and to obtain a detailed fingerprint useful for breeding, conservation and improvement purposes.