Extraction of essential oil from rose

The study was conducted to determine the present of essential oil in different mass quantity of roses by using hydrodistillation and steam distillation. In addition, the study reveals the characteristic of volatile component and its composition in the rose essential oil. The samples used in this study were the mixture of rose species from the Cameron Highlands. The petals were allowed to dry between 6-7 days. The moisture content of rose calculated was 77.7%. The masses quantities of petals manipulated for extraction were 30g, 40g and 50g. The extraction time was kept constant at 6 hours. The percentage by mass of essential oil yield from hydrodistillation was ranging from 0.09-0.1% while steam distillation ranging from 0.024-0.097%. The obtained oils were analysed by using GC-MS. From the analysis result, 9-Nonadecene, á-Pinene, Eicosane and Heneicosane were the major components of the rose oil. The study indicated that the hydrodistillation is more suitable for extracting the essential oils compare to the steam distillation. Hydrodistillation gave high amount of components compare to steam distillation. The main component of rose oil which is Citronellol was not found in this study. However, the others volatile component can be used in cosmetic industries instead of perfume industries.