Summary

The Australian Standard for Lemon myrtle essential oil AS 4941 first published in 2001 is in urgent need of revision to reflect the current commercial quality of the oil and to tighten the present Standard to prevent adulterations.
The proposed project will test and analyse ten lemon myrtle essential oils from different sources and submit these findings to Standards Australia to amend the current Standard.
This project will take historical analytical data generated from 60 farms into account to verify the proposed amendment of the AS 4941.

Program

New and Emerging Plant Industries

Research Organisation

Australian Rainforest Products

Objective Summary

The lemon scented volatile leaf oil of Backhousia citriodora is used in the compounding of flavours and fragrances as well as in aromatherapy. The present Australian Backhousia citriodora essential oil Standard AS 4941, first published in 2001, requires significant revision in order to reflect the improved quality of presently produced oils. The reasons for the revision are not only to tighten the present standard in order to prevent adulteration but also to reflect the greater chemical uniformity of presently produced oils of commerce.