The Effects of Post-Harvest Drying Period on the Yield and Chemical Composition of leaf Essential Oil from Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is an aromatic, medicinal oil-bearing grass that grows spontaneously in tropical regions like Malaysia and India. The effects of drying periods (fresh sample, 1 day, 2 days, and 3 days of drying) on essential oil yield and chemical composition of C. citratus was investigated. The chemical composition of the oils was analyzed using gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The post-harvest drying periods were found to be beneficial for improving oil yield of C. citratus. The highest essential oil concentration (0.392% v/w) was obtained from samples dried for 2 days post-harvest compared to 1 day (0.28%) and 3 days (0.31%) post-harvest periods. The major components were alpha-citral and beta-citral followed by myrcene for both fresh and dried samples. Drying periods had no significant effect on the main components of the lemongrass essential oil. Nevertheless, the post-harvest drying periods had a marked effect on the proportions of monoterpenes.