Physiochemical Properties of Essential Oils and Applications

Abstract

Essential oils have received increasing interest due to the high potential of their novel properties, i.e. antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities. Essential oils are obtained from various parts of aromatic cultures, i.e. roots, leaves, seeds, bark, fruits, flowers, stems, etc. by various oil production methods, i.e. field distillation unit (FDU), steam distillation, water and steam distillation & several advanced (supercritical fluid extraction). Therefore, it is necessary to understand the characterization of the essential oils. This study reports on the method of determination of physiochemical properties with the test parameters, i.e. odor, color, optical rotation, solubility, refractive index, specific gravity, acid value, ester value, and ester value after acetylation. There is also discussion about instruments such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry due to one of the best tools for identifying and quantifying the constituents of essential oils as its simplicity, rapidity, accuracy, and efficiency.