Differential Chemical Compositions of the Essential Oils of the Shoot Organs, Rhizomes and Rhizoids in the Tumeric Curcuma longa Grown in Indo-Gangetic Plains

Abstract

The turmeric Curcuma longa cv Roma plants grown at 26,000 plants per hectare were harvested at the age of 16 months and separated into leaf laminas, petioles, stem, inflorescence, primary and secondary rhizomes and rhizoids. These organs were hydrodistilled separately to obtain essential oils which were characterized by GC and GC-MS analyses; 15 terpenoids could be identified. On average basis, a plant of C. longa cv Roma yielded about 7.72 g oil; about 2 g from leaves, 2 g from rhizoids and 3.5 g from rhizomes. About 26,000 plants could be accomodated in a hectare of land. The stem, rhizome and rhizoid essential oils were similar in composition. The rhizome essential oils were highly rich in a- and ß-turmerones (40.8 %), myrcene (12.6 %), 1,8-cineole (7.7 %) and p -cymene (3.8 %). The leaf petiole and lamina essential oils were rich in myrcene (35.9 %), 1,8-cineole (12.1 %) and p -cymene (21.7 %). This oil contained turmerones but in lower concentrations.