Extraction and Formulation of Perfume from Locally Available Lemon Grass Leaves

Abstract

The availability of wild plants and their use as economically efficient sources of food for man and animals is obvious. In most parts of Nigeria, plant materials whose edible use is not established are regarded as waste materials. Available materials like lemon grass leaves that contain essential oils can be utilized in the production of perfumes that can mask body odours. Lemon grass extracts obtained using soxhlet extraction and solvent extraction (maceration) were utilized in the formulation of perfume using methanol and ethanol as solvent media. An oil yield of 4.5% and 3.8% were obtained for solvent extraction and soxhlet extraction methods respectively. Physicochemical properties of the two formulations revealed that the essential oil has saponification value of 21.04mgKOH/g and the densities of the two formulations in methanol and ethanol were 0.768gcm -3 and 0.82gcm -3 at 60 o c while the boiling point for both formulations was 85o. The essential oil can be profitably used for cosmetic grade and perfume formulations. Keywords : Essential oil, Extraction, Perfume, Physicochemical Parameters