About this episode
This episode discusses Limonene, a major component in the fragrance and essential oil of citrus fruit peels.
pWotD Episode 3282: Limonene Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today. With 163,072 views on Monday, 27 April 2026 our article of the day is Limonene. Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the fragrance and essential oil of citrus fruit peels, taking its name from Italian limone ("lemon"). Limonene is a chiral molecule, and most biological sources produce just one enantiomer (isomer). The (+)-isomer, d-limonene, which is the (R)-enantiomer, occurs more commonly in nature in citrus fruit peels, the principal commercial source, from which it is obtained commercially by two primary methods: centrifugal separation and steam distillation. d-Limonene is used as a flavoring agent in food manufacturing, in chemical synthesis as a precursor to carvone, and as a renewables-based solvent in cleaning products. It has a "citrus, orange, fresh, sweet, peely" aroma. The less common (−)-isomer, l-limonene, which is the (S)-enantiomer, has a piny, turpentine-like odour, and is found in the…
Topics covered
- Limonene
- citrus
- essential oils
- chemical synthesis
- flavoring agents
Keywords
- Limonene
- citrus
- monoterpene
- d-limonene
- l-limonene
- essential oils
- cleaning products
- flavoring agent
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Wikipedia, Abulsme Productions
Books & works: Limonene
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