Extraction of kaffir lime essential oil (Citrus hystrix DC.) with ethanol/n-hexane solvents

Abstract

Essential oil is a commodity that has a great potential in Indonesia. Essential oils derived from kaffir lime are widely used in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, flavor, perfume, dye and other industries. Kaffir lime essential oil contains several main chemical compounds, namely citronellal, b-pinene, citronellol, linalool and geraniol with different benefits. The oil can be extracted by several methods, one of which is extraction using a solvent. The stages in the extraction of kaffir lime essential oil are pre-treatment, extraction, purification, and analysis. The extraction with n-hexane solvent was carried out at temperature of 69°C and the extraction with ethanol solvent was at 78°C, with a variable portion of kaffir lime as raw material, the effect of pre-treatment and type of solvent on yield essential oil. The results of the identification of the highest compounds were obtained for: essential oil of dried kaffir lime leaves with n-hexane as solvent, namely citronellal with a concentration of 39.57%, essential oil of dried kaffir lime peels with n-hexane solvent, namely b-pinene with a concentration of 19.57%, essential oil of dried kaffir lime leaves with ethanol solvent, namely 9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid, with a concentration of 20.91%, and essential oil of dried kaffir lime peels with ethanol solvent, namely pentadecanoic acid with a concentration of 33.35%.