Effect of essential oil extraction in term of time and mass from hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis

Essential oil can be extracted through many ways. It can be extracted through conventional method (hydrodistillation and steam distillation), solvent extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). The aim of this paper is to study the effect of different operational conditions; extraction time, and extraction methods based on the yield of hibiscus obtained, and to study the compounds exist in the extracted oil. In this research, the essential oil was extracted through hydrodistillation (HD) and steam distillation (SD) method by manipulating the time of extraction; 2, 4, and 6 hours for each method. The obtained oil was then analysed by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). Based on the result, the yield of oil is increasing when the time of extraction is extended for both HD and SD. As for the method of extraction, 6 hours of extraction by SD gave the best yield which was 0.036% compared to HD which was 0.033%. Analyses of the oil by GC-MS indicate that SD produced higher quality of chemicals than HD. Also, there were 11 major chemicals extracted by SD (cis-á-Terpineol, Linalyl anthranilate, á-Pinene, β-Selinene, Nonadecane, á-Myrcene, Lavandulol, (E)-β-Farnesene, and Isopropyl Myristate, Alloaromadendrene oxide-(1), and Eicosane), while 9 major chemicals extracted by HD (cis-á-Terpineol, Linalyl anthranilate, á-Pinene, β-Selinene, Nonadecane, á-Myrcene, Lavandulol, (E)-β-Farnesene, and Isopropyl Myristate). SD is good method in extracting more chemicals, but in term of amounts, HD managed to exceed SD.