Extraction of Lemongrass Oils of Cymbopogon nardus using Microwave-assisted Hydrodistillation
Zuhdi Masum*, Mahfud Mahfud, Ali Altway
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember
Abstract
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon nardus), a traditional medicinal plant in Indonesia, has been considered to have a therapeutic effect and is widely used in the perfume and pharmacological industries. Considering the ability of Lemongrass Oils, this study was conducted to optimize the microwave-assisted hydrodistillation method (MAHD) for Cymbopogon nardus leaf samples to improve the yield and analysis of components of essential oils. Result optimization is done through Box-Behnken Design (BBD) from the surface response methodology (RSM) using three variable factors (extraction time, irradiation power, mass sample, and sample size). Based on RSM results, the maximum essential oil yield is obtained by 800 W microwave power, mass sample 20 g, sample size 1.5 cm at 90 minutes. The results showed that MAHD from 20 g Lemongrass, produced the highest volatile oil yield (2.26%) compared to 40 g mass essential oil (1.94%). Essential oils extracted by MAHD were analyzed by mass gas-spectroscopy (GC-MS) chromatography and showed the main constituents of them were Geranial, Z-Citral, beta-Myrcene, and Eugenol. This study reveals that MAHD can be an effective method for hydrodistillation of essential oils in Cymbopogon nardus in terms of shortening the time of hydrodistillation, reducing the optimum energy consumption and process.
Keywords: Microwave extraction; Cymbopogon nardus; Respon Surface; Optimization.
Topic: Chemical Engineering