On Optimization of Steam Distillation and Chemical Composition Analysis of Volatile Oil from Curcuma Longa with Response Surface Methodology

The volatile oil from Curcuma longa has been extracted by means of steam distillation.The extraction technology of the volatile oil has been optimized by response surface methodology.The results show that the optimal extraction process is as follows: a liquid/solid ratio of 9.5∶1,soaked for 3 h and distilled for 3 h.The observed and predicted values of extraction yield of volatile oil from Curcuma longa are 3.6002% and 3.6388%,respectively.The essential oil has been analyzed by GC/MS technique.Thirty-nine compounds are identified,accounting for 93.49% of total peak area.The major compounds in Curcuma longa essential oil were α-Turmerone(26.43%),α-Zingiberene(15.34%),ar-Tumerone(11.82%),β-Sesquiphellandrene(11.52%),Curlone(9.78%),α-Curcumene(3.44%).All these results can provide valuable and scientific information for the development and utilization of Curcuma longa.