All Terpenes

Citral

Citral is the aldehyde that defines lemon aroma, a natural pair of isomers called geranial and neral that always occur together. Distilled from lemongrass and lemon myrtle, it delivers an intense, true lemon character that leads our brightest citrus profiles.

Citrus Sweet Fruity

The terpene citral manifests as two distinct isomers, geranial (Citral A) and neral (Citral B). To add confusion to the issue, literature references to citral frequently employ the name “geranial,” but sometimes instead use “lemonal.” Citral is a monoterpenes produced by cannabis, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, lime, and orange, among several other plant species.

As its name suggests, citral conveys an aroma that is heavily citrus in nature, making it similar to its chemical cousin and fellow terpene, limonene. As readers might expect, the two terpene isomers, geranial and neral, convey aroma and flavor profiles dominated by citrus tones and, more specifically, lemon. In terms of both aroma and flavor, the one-word takeaway for this pair of terpene isomers is, without question, “lemon.”

It should be noted that neral delivers a less intense, but sweeter, version of lemon. Both terpenes are employed as aroma and flavor agents by the cosmetics and food industries.

Chemical Structure

At a glance

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CAS number: 5392-40-5
Formula: C10H16O
Molecular weight: 152.23 g/mol
Boiling point: 229 °C
Flash point: 91 °C
FEMA number: 2303
PubChem: CID 638011

citral is a natural mixture of two isomers: geranial (141-27-5) and neral (106-26-3)

Common questions

What does citral smell like?

Intense fresh lemon: sharper and more candy-bright than lemon peel itself.

Is citral one compound or two?

Two. Natural citral is always a blend of geranial and neral, sibling isomers that together create the full lemon character. Neral alone is softer and sweeter.