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Botanical names Citrus reticulata blanco var tangerine
Source Fruit peel, by expression
Family Rutaceae
Origin Italy
Processing Method Cold Pressed
Description / Color / Consistency A thin, clear, pale yellow to golden liquid.
Aromatic Summary / Note / Strength of Aroma A middle note with a medium aroma, Tangerine is typically fresh, tangy and sweet. With only subtle differences, it smells much like Mandarin. In comparison to Sweet Orange, Tangerine is lighter with sweeter notes.
Blends With Basil, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Clove Bud, Frankincense, Lavender, Lemon, Lime, Neroli, Nutmeg and Orange.
Product Abstract
Tangerines are smaller and less rounded than common oranges. The taste is considered less sour, as well as sweeter and stronger, than that of an orange. A ripe tangerine is firm to slightly soft, heavy for its size, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as orange in color. The peel is very thin, with very little bitter white mesocarp. which makes them usually easier to peel and to split into segments.All of these traits are shared by mandarins.
History
Tangerines were first grown and cultivated as a distinct crop in the Americas by a Major Atway in Palatka, Florida. Atway was said to have imported them from Morocco, which was the origin of the name "Tangerine". Major Atway sold his groves to N. H. Moragne in 1843, giving the Moragne tangerine the other part of its name.
Harvesting/Extraction Information
Tangerine are native to China, and from there, they have spread to other parts of the world. Just like mandarin orange essential oil, the essential oil of tangerine is extracted by cold compression of its peels and contains alpha pinene, alpha-thujone, beta pinene, camphene, citronellal, gamma terpinolene, geranial, limonene, linalool, myrcene, nerol, sabinene, and terpineol as its chief components.
Common usage
Caution
This oil may show some extent of phototoxicity in certain skin types, but in general, it is non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-sensitizing.
Key constituents
(þ)-Limonene 89.5–90.6%
g-Terpinene tr–6.1%
b-Myrcene 3.2–4.2%
a-Pinene 0.7–2.4%
Sabinene 0.3–2.3%
p-Cymene tr–2.1%
Linalool 0.4–1.1%
Quality May be adulterated with synthetic dimethyl anthranilate
Safety summary
Hazards Skin sensitization if oxidized.
Cautions Old or oxidized oils should be avoided.
Our safety advice
Because of its (þ)-limonene content we recommend that oxidation of tangerine oil is avoided by storage in a dark, airtight container in a refrigerator. The addition of an antioxidant to preparations containing it is recommended.
Regulatory guidelines
Has GRAS status. In Europe, essential oils containing furanocoumarins must be used so that the total level of bergapten will not exceed: (a) 15 ppm in finished cosmetic products intended for application to skin areas likely to be exposed to sunshine, excluding rinse-off products: or (b) 1 ppm in sun protection and in bronzing products. In the presence of other phototoxic ingredients, the sum of their concentrations shall not exceed 100%. IFRA recommends that essential oils rich in limonene should only be used when the level of peroxides is kept to the lowest practical level, for instance by adding antioxidants at the time of production.
Organ-specific effects
Adverse skin reactions Undiluted tangerine oil was irritating to rabbits, mice and pigs; tested at 5% on 25 volunteers it was neither irritating nor sensitizing. It is non-phototoxic. Bergapten could not be found in a sample
of tangerine oil, with a detection limit of 0.00005%. According to IFRA, the typical bergapten content of tangerine oil is 50 ppm. This is not sufficient to cause a phototoxic reaction, but may contribute to the total psoralen content of a mixture. Autoxidation products of (þ)-limonene can cause skin sensitization.
Reproductive toxicity The low developmental toxicity of (þ)- limonene in rabbits and mice suggests that tangerine oil is not hazardous in pregnancy.
Systemic effects
Acute toxicity Non-toxic. Tangerine oil acute oral LD50 in rats >5 g/kg; acute dermal LD50 in rabbits >5 g/kg.
Carcinogenic/anticarcinogenic potential Tangerine oil significantly induced glutathione S-transferase in mouse liver and small bowel mucosa, and inhibited B[a]P-induced neoplasia of both forestomach and lungs. The oil contains no known carcinogens. (þ)-Limonene displays anticarcinogenic activity.
Comments
Assuming a bergapten content of 50 ppm, and to comply with the 15 ppm SCCNFP guideline for bergapten, tangerine oil should not be used at more than 30%. Some taxonomy sources believe that Citrus reticulata should now be reserved for mandarin.
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