Investigation of chemical composition and yield of extracted essential oils from <i>Cymbopogon citratus</i> , <i>Citrus sinensis</i> , and <i>Curcuma longa</i>

Essential oils are complex mixtures of organic compounds with significant applications in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry. The aim of this research is to analyse the chemical composition and evaluates the yield of extracted essential oils (EOs) from different forms of <i>Cymbopogon citratus</i>, <i>Citrus sinensis</i>, and <i>Curcuma longa</i>. The EOs were extracted by using steam distillation at a temperature of 100 °C for approximately 4 h. The chemical composition was analysed using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). From HPLC, dry lemongrass showed citral at a concentration of 38.47 % whereas turmeric showed demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin at concentration of 46.67 % and 39.71 % respectively. LCMS showed a major peak in the case of dried orange oil, which indicates the presence of 15.60 % limonene. The highest yield was obtained from dried orange peels (3.43 %v/w), followed by dried lemongrass (2.13 % v/w).