Bergamot Oil

#### Bergamot Oil. The economy of citrus oils in general is clearly depicted by the study of **Bergamot Oil**** **production. Only the expressed oil from the peels of the fruits from the small bergamot tree, **Citrus**** ****Bergamia**, are of any substantial interest. The pulp or juice is of little value beyond what can be converted into citric acid. The leaves and twigs may be distilled to yield a **Bergamot-Petitgrain Oil **(see that monograph), but the fruits are not edible. **Bergamot**** ****Oil**** **is produced by cold expression from the peel of the nearly ripe fruit. The tree grows almost exclusively in a narrow coastal strip in the southern part of Calabria, Italy. Cultivation of bergamot trees in other areas have failed to produce bergamot oils of comparable value to that of the Calabrian oil. There is one exception, however: experimental plantations in Guinea (former French West Africa) since 1937, and more recently in Morocco have now attained some importance on the world **Bergamot**** ****Oil**** **market. Bergamot trees are grafted on stubs of bitter orange trees. The fruits are of the size of big oranges and almost lemon-shaped. The annual world production (over 90% of which is Calabrian) fluctuates between 150 and 250 tons. Bergamot Oil is a green or olive green, mobile liquid of extremely rich, sweet-fruity initial odor. Although the characteristics of this topnote remain perceptible in good oils, it is followed by a still more characteristic oily-herbaceous and somewhat balsamic body and dryout. The sweetness yields to a more tobacco like and rich note, somewhat reminiscent of sage clary and nerylacetate. The freshness in the topnote is mainly due to terpenes and small amounts of citral and aliphatic aldehydes. Absence of the “oily” note is one of the most revealing features in poor or adulterated bergamot oils. The color of bergamot oil fades on ageing, particularly when the oil is exposed to daylight. The oil turns yellow or pale olive-brown. The color is also dependent upon the maturity of the fruit at the moment of expressing. Like all other citrus oils, Bergamot Oil is produced in the immediate vicinity of the plantations. The oil is used extensively in perfumery for its sweet freshness, particularly in citrus colognes, chypres, fougères, modern fantasy bases, etc. Part of the sweetness and rich bodynote is due to the presence of large amounts of linalylacetate combined with linalool and traces of methylanthranilate. It is interesting to find the presence of methylanthranilate together with aliphatic aldehydes, citral etc. in several citrus oils. In perfume creation, it is generally considered somewhat hazardous to include substantial amounts of aldehydes when anthranilates are present. The formation of “Schiff’s bases” produce a very intense color which may be visible in the perfumed cosmetic product or in a soap. Other perfumers will deliberately utilize this simple chemical phenomenon to produce an increased sweetness in orange-flower or neroli types of fragrance, etc. Unlike most other citrus oils, **Bergamot**** ****Oil**** **has a certain fixative effect when used in fairly high concentrations. The odor of the oil is well balanced from nature through the presence of certain coumarin derivatives, some of which are odorless and non-volatile. The quantity and composition of the evaporation residue is another important criterion in the analysis of bergamot oil. **Bergamot Oil **is also used in flavors for its sweet-fruity and yet refreshing notes. It is quite popular in “hard candy” and as a modifier, along with other citrus oils. Bergamot oil forms the original flavor principle in the Continental hard candy known as “Althaea drops”. Bergamot is also used in the flavoring of tobacco, particularly in the Continental types of pipe tobacco. The oil is frequently adulterated. Less than 10 years ago, when the cost of **Linalylacetate**** **(the main constituent of bergamot oil) was more than half the cost of the oil itself, adulteration was often done with the addition of terpinylacetate and other low-cost esters. Today, with synthetic linalylacetate available at one-fifth the old price, it is possible to cut bergamot oil directly with linalool and linalylacetate. A simple example will show how easy a 4 ½ % profit is made without any laboratory or factory facilities. An ordinary bergamot oil contains about 38% linalylacetate. To the oil is added 5% linalylacetate synthetic. The mixture has now a total of 40.85% linalylacetate which is not extraordinary. The net profit made by selling the latter mixture at the price of the former original oil is an additional 4 ½ %. This adulteration is extremely hard to identify by olfactory examination alone. Other common adulterants are bitter orange oil, lime oil, citral, d-limonene, etc. Adulterations with diethylphthalate, diacetin, terpinylacetate, etc. are considered so crude that the author finds it superfluous to discuss these in detail. The increasing and unscrupulous adulteration of **Bergamot Oil **has resulted in the establishment of the “Consorzio di Bergamotto” in Calabria. All oils which leave the Consorzio warehouses will carry the seal of the Consorzio with the guarantee for purity and genuineness. However, it is still possible to find excellent if not superior qualities of **Bergamot Oil **on the “free” market, i.e. outside the reach of the Consorzio. (See also monographs on **Bergamot**** ****Oil,**** ****Terpeneless,**** ****Bergamot**** ****Petitgrain**** ****Oil**** ****and**** ****Bergamots**** ****“fallen”, oil of **-.).