Physical and Chemical Profile of Essential oil of Vietnamese Ocimum gratissimum L.

Abstract

Abstract Ocimum gratissimum L. essential oil was studied in this research for its physicochemical characteristics and composition. The essential oil extraction performance achieved 0.3-0.45% by hydrodistillation process. The physicochemical properties of the obtained oil were also discovered including specific gravity at 0.9645 g/cm3, acid index at 13.035 mg KOH/g, ester index at 14.745 mg KOH/g, refractive index at 1.526, and optical rotation at +15.6°. Through gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), it was revealed that the oil is extremely rich in eugenol (59.448 %), trans-ß-Ocimene (10.382 %), β-Cubebene (11.783 %), Caryophyllene (6.966 %) and Copaene (2.479 %). Therefore, optimizing the preservation conditions for the essential oils is suggested as potential pathway to extend the application and enhance the value of Ocimum gratissimum essential oils.