Scent Composition of Essential Oil, Concrete, Absolute and Hydrosol from Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.)

Abstract

Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.) oil has long been used in the fragrance and perfumery industry. Lavandin is a complementary crop to Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) for rose oil producers who need novel essential oil crops in Isparta region of Turkey. Although concrete, absolute and hydrosol are also produced from the lavandin flowers apart from lavandin oil, there are very limited studies on these products. The oil of var. Super grown in Isparta region was released from the glands in the flower inflorescences by steam distillation. Lavandin hydrosol (distillate water) was obtained from a by-product during the distillation. Concrete was extracted from the flower inflorescences using n-hexane, and subsequently by evaporation of the solvent in vacuum. Absolute was produced from the concrete with ethyl alcohol extraction. Essential oils from these products were analyzed on a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Two major compounds were linalyl acetate and linalool, and the concentrations of both compounds were 47.7 % and 34.0 % in the oil, 46.6 % and 17.7 % in the concrete, 45.0 % and 17.2 % in absolute, respectively. Lavandin hydrosol contained 55.6 % linalool, but any linalyl acetate. Lavandin oil yield of the fresh inflorescences was about 1.2 % (5.8 % in dry flower heads). The yield of lavandin concrete was 0.9 % and the lavandin concrete gave 60 % of lavandin absolute.