Enzyme-assisted turmeric oil extraction from turmeric rhizomes

Abstract

An enzyme-assisted modified steam distillation process was adopted to extract turmeric oil from Curcuma longa L. rhizomes. The diastase, xylose, cellulase, pectinase, and lipase enzymes were used for the pre-treatment of fresh turmeric rhizome to obtain a higher yield by rapturing biological cells. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of turmeric oil was performed by GC-MS. The various influencing parameters for the extraction of turmeric oil such as an enzyme, incubation/pre-treatment time, distillation time have been studied in the present work. The obtained turmeric oil by enzymatic pretreatment process is richer in bioactive/medicinal components than in the other traditional methods. The maximum yield was obtained with cellulase enzyme, which is 25-27% higher than the yield obtained by the traditional hydro distillation process. The detailed qualitative and quantitative analyses are also presented. The present method can be considered energy-efficient, effective, economical, and eco-friendly.