A RESEARCH WORK ON EXTRACTION ANDCHARACTERISTIZATION OF ESSENTIAL OIL FROM GINGER USING ACETONE AND XYLENE

Essential Oils are highly concentrated essences of aromatic plants. Essential oils have a very high commercial value majorly due to its therapeutic properties of oil. This project was carried out using Ginger rhizome that was purchased from a local market in Enugu metropolis. It involved the determination of the moisture content of the Ginger Rhizome. The oil in these rhizomes were extracted using Solvent extraction method due to its high recovery, process simplicity, thermal stability and low energy requirement. Two different solvents were used in the extraction namely; Acetone and Xylene in order to compare their yield. At the end of the extraction operation, the amount of oil extracted using Acetone was observed to be greater than the amount of oil extracted using Xylene. Optimal extraction condition was at an hour extraction time. The physical and chemical properties of the Acetone extracted essential oil and that of Xylene extracted essential oil were determined showing Density(g/cm3) are 0.89 and 0.87; Specific gravity are 0.92 and 0.91; Saponification Value(mg/g) are 194 and 189; Acid Value(mg/g) are 4.24 and 4.02; Free Fatty Acid are 2.12 and 2.03; Iodine Value(g/100g) are 12.4 and 11.7; Peroxide Value(mg/100g) are 2.49 and 2.40 of Acetone Extracted Oil and Xylene Extracted Oil respectively. Proximate analysis was also carried out showing Moisture Content (%) are 6.454 and 4.574; Protein Content (%) are 6.30 and8.40;Fibre Content (%) are 0.799 and 1.790; Ash Content (%) are 5.234 and 5.998; Fat Content (%) are2.527 and 2.925; Carbohydrate Content (%) are 78.686 and 75.861of Acetone Extracted Oil and Xylene Extracted Oil respectively. The Ginger oil is an essential oil that can be applied for various domestic and industrial purposes.