Volatile Constituents and GC-MS Analysis of essential oil of Zingiber officinale (Ginger) by Cold Grinding Method

Abstract

   Herbal medicines formulated as oils were believed to possess more powerful effects than their original plants in Iranian Traditional medicine¹ Ginger has long been used in traditional medicine. The part of the plant that's used for these purposes is called the rhizome Ginger oil is greenish to pale yellow in colour with a characteristic warm and aromatic odour. It is widely used in food,  pharmaceuticals and cosmetic industries. Grinding is an important step in processing because it involved the additional problem of volatility and loss of aroma giving essential oil present it. A low temperature grinding is much more effective to achieve flavour principles studied by practical way.

   A comparative study of the control sample with that of cold grinding was performed qualitatively and quantitavely by GC-MS analysis. The quality nature of oil obtained was found to enhanced in terms of its number of constituents as well as its percentage and also showed that the oil content increased from 0.21- 39%. The percentage of the essential oil and the chemical composition of the cold ground sample showed  the superiority of the product. Thus this cold grinding method may positively be used in the flavour industry  to obtain better result and improve the product quality.

Keywords: Zingiber officinal, Traditional, ginger oil, cold grinding, GC-MS analysis