Abstract

Lemongrass is an aromatic crop widely utilized in aroma and pharmaceutical industries because of its pharmacologic and clinical properties. The worldwide demand for natural products has also increased and made the products’ quality, efficacy, and safety a major concern. Appropriate post-harvest management and processing techniques can maintain the quality of the produce because improper handling significantly deteriorates the quality and contribute to economic losses. Thus, a study was conducted to analyze essential oil content and chemical constitution of lemongrass with two experiments: (1) post-harvest drying storage (0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h) and (2) distillation time (DT: 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes), conducted during 2017-18. In the post-harvest drying storage experiment, an increase in drying resulted in gradual moisture content reduction with the lowest at 48 h. The highest essential oil content was achieved at 48 h post-harvest storage and 240 min (minutes) DT. The major constituent, i.e. citral (neral and geranial) attained the highest percentage (81.2 %) at the longer storage hours (36 h) and at 60 min DT. The degradation, rearrangement, and disappearance of constituents resulted in essential oil composition variation; post-harvest drying storage and DT can acquire essential oil with disparity and specific chemical profile.

摘要

柠檬草是一种芳香作物，因其药理和临床特性而广泛用于芳香和制药行业。全球对天然产品的需求也增加了，使产品的质量、功效和安全成为主要问题。适当的收获后管理和加工技术可以保持产品的质量，因为处理不当会显着降低质量并造成经济损失。因此，进行了一项研究，通过两个实验来分析柠檬草的精油含量和化学成分：（1）收获后干燥储存（0、12、24、36 和 48 小时）和（2）蒸馏时间（DT： 30、60、120、180 和 240 分钟），在 2017-18 年期间进行。在采后干燥贮藏实验中，干燥的增加导致水分含量逐渐降低，最低为 48 小时。最高的精油含量出现在收获后 48 小时和 240 分钟（分钟）DT。主要成分，即柠檬醛（橙花醛和香叶醛）在较长的储存时间（36 小时）和 60 分钟 DT 时达到最高百分比（81.2%）。成分的降解、重排和消失导致精油成分变化；收获后干燥储存和DT可以获得具有差异和特定化学特征的精油。成分的降解、重排和消失导致精油成分变化；收获后干燥储存和DT可以获得具有差异和特定化学特征的精油。成分的降解、重排和消失导致精油成分变化；收获后干燥储存和DT可以获得具有差异和特定化学特征的精油。