Effect of Physical and Chemical Strategies on Extraction-Recovery of Lemongrass Volatile Oil

Abstract

Volatile oils constitute an economically important by-product of various aromatic plants, and their extraction and categorization are important. The present investigation is aimed at improving extraction methods by employing various physical and chemical strategies to fit the market requirements of lemongrass, Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud.) W. Watson, Poaceae. Thus, the effect of various additions on extraction-recovery of volatile oils from lemongrass was studied: crushed by a grinder (crushed), microwave 1 min, microwave 4 min, trichloroacetic acid 1g/100g and 2 g/100g, picric acid 1 g/100g and 2 g/100g, potassium hydroxide 1 g/100g, KOH 2 g/100g, a combination (picric acid 1 g/100g + trichloroacetic acid 1 g/100g). Different solvent systems have a significant effect on the volatile oil-recovery of lemongrass. A maximum enhancement is recorded by trichloroacetic acid 2 g/100 g. An increase of 150% was reported as compared to control. Other parameters like refractive index, specific gravity, and quality parameters of the volatile oils have been studied. To explore the broad overview of the effect of different solvent system on volatile oil extraction-recovery, refractive index, specific gravity, and citral content, our dataset was analyzed using principal component analysis that explained the total variance of 83.04%. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]