Abstract
This work aimed to extract perfume from the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus using three extraction methods viz: distillation, solvent extraction and expression or effleurage. About 150 g of dried lemons grass were extracted using ethanol as the solvent to obtain essential oils required for the formulation of perfumes. The result of the hydrodistillation process showed that 1.23 g of essential oil per 130g of dry lemongrass produce 0.95% oil at 78 °C, while the effleurage method was 2.55 g of essential oil per 130 g of dry lemongrass sample thereby producing 1.96% oil yield. The solvent extraction method gave 2.7 g of essential oil per 130 g of dry lemongrass sample. This gives about 2.08 % yield of essential oil at a temperature of 78°C i.e. the boiling point of ethanol. The solvent extraction method yielded 2.08%, the effleuragemethod yielded 1.96% and the hydrodistillation method yielded 0.95% essential oil respectively. In conclusion, solvent extraction gave the highest yield because of less exposure to air and heat, which is highly recommended as the most suitable method for the extraction of essential oil.
Highlights
MATERIALS AND METHODSThe lower ethanol extract and the upper hexane layer were collected into two separated 250 mL beakers and was placed in a water bath at 78 oC
Since the existence of man, humans have been using fragrances from natural products to produce pleasantsmelling perfumes
Solvent extraction method: About 130 g of the dry sample of lemongrass was washed from the sliced lemongrass sample and placed in a 500 mL clean flat bottom flask. 600 mL of N-hexane solvent was pounded into the 500 mL flask and shopped
Summary
The lower ethanol extract and the upper hexane layer were collected into two separated 250 mL beakers and was placed in a water bath at 78 oC. This was done to remove the ethanol leaving only the natural essential oil. The Ethanol extract was decanted and placed on a water bath at 78OC to vaporize the Ethanol leaving behind the essential oil. The condensation was directly collected using a 500 mL beaker and pounded into a separating funnel This formed two layers of oil and water. The solution was shaken and poured into a 50 mL bottle
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