Minyak Atsiri

Essential Oil
Khoirun Nisyak, S.Si., M.Si.
 VOLATILE OILS
• Volatile or essential oils, as their name
implies, are volatile in steam.
• They differ entirely in both chemical and
physical properties from fixed oils.
• They are secreted in oil cells, in secretion
ducts or cavities or in glandular hairs.
• They are frequently associated with other
substances such as gums and resins and
themselves tend to resinify on exposure to
air.
 Production and uses of volatile oils

• The total annual production of volatile oils is

estimated to be in the region of 45,000 tones,
worth approximately US$700 million.
• There are about 100 commercially valuable
volatile oils directly derived from plants.
• Volatile oils are used for their therapeutic
action, for flavoring (e.g. oil of lemon), in
perfumery (e.g. oil of rose) or as starting
materials for the synthesis of other compounds
(e.g. oil of turpentine).
• For therapeutic purposes they are administered as
inhalations (e.g. eucalyptus oil), orally (e.g.
peppermint oil), as gargles and mouthwashes (e.g.
thymol) and transdermally (many essential oils
including those of lavender, rosemary and bergamot
are employed in the practice of aromatherapy).
• Those oils with a high phenol content, e.g. clove and
thyme have antiseptic properties, whereas others
are used as carminatives. Oils showing
antispasmodic activity, and much used in popular
medicine.
 Composition of volatile oils
• Volatile oils are generally mixtures of
hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds
derived from these hydrocarbons.

• The odour and taste of volatile oils is mainly

determined by these oxygenated
constituents, which are to some extent
soluble in water but more soluble in alcohol.
• Practically all volatile oils consist of chemical
mixtures that are often quite complex; they vary
widely in chemical composition.
• Almost any type of organic compound may be found
in volatile oils (hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones,
aldehydes, ethers, oxides, esters, and others).
“usually volatile oils are classified according to the type
of organic compounds”.
• It is not uncommon for a volatile oil to contain over
200 components, and often the trace constituents
are essential to the odor and flavor. The absence of
even one component may change the aroma.
 Biosynthesis and chemical
composition
• Chemical constituents of volatile oils
may be divided into 2 broad classes,
based on their biosynthetic origin:
1. Terpene derivatives formed via the
acetate-mevalonic acid pathway.
2. Aromatic compounds formed via the
shikimic acid-phenylpropanoid route.
 Terpene derivatives

CH3 CH3 CH3

OH OH

H3C CH3 H3C CH2 H3C CH3

Menthol Carvone Thymol
(peppermint oil) (caraway oil) (thyme oil)
Aromatic compounds
OH OCH3

OCH3

CH2 CH3 CHO

Eugenol Anethole Cinnamaldehyde

(clove oil) (anise oils) (cinnamon oil)
 Monoterpen terdiri dari 10 atom karbon.
Monoterpen terdapat dalam sebagian besar minyak atsiri terutama dalam
minyak jeruk.
Merupakan minyak yang tidak berwarna, sangat stabil disimpan pada
temperatur yang dingin dan berfungsi sebagai antseptik,
Contoh:
-limonen (dalam minyak lemon),
-pinen (dalam pinus) dan
-camphor (dalam kapur barus).

limonen
pinen

pinus Temu putih

camphor
Sesquiterpen merupakan terpen yang tidak mudah berubah seperti
monoterpen.
JAHE
Terdiri dari 15 atom karbon (sesqui = satu setengah).
Sesquiterpen memiliki efek antiinflammatory dan anti-infeksi.

Contohnya adalah minyak jahe (dalam jahe)

Cedrene (dalam cedarwood)

Caryophyllen (dalam cengkeh).

Rantai molekul terpen dalam minyak atsiri merupakan rantai terbuka

(terpen alifatis) dan rantai melingkar (terpen siklis).

CEDARWOOD CENGKEH

Alpha-cedrene

Caryophyllen
Golongan fenol dalam minyak atsiri merupakan golongan yang
mempunyai aktivitas antseptik paling tinggi dalam tanaman.

Golongan ini dapat merangsang tubuh dan dapat bermanfaat dalam dosis
kecil, tetapi dosis yang besar dapat menjadi racun pada system syaraf dan
iritasi pada kulit serta ketidaknyamanan dalam pencernakan.

Contoh :
thymol (dalam thymus)
eugenol (dalam cengkeh)

thymus
thymol eugenol cengkeh
Golongan Alkohol dalam minyak atsiri juga sangat antseptik, antibakteri
dan antijamur.

Sangat baik untuk sistem syaraf dan merangsang respon kekebalan.

Contohnya :

lavendulol (dalam lavender),

nerol (dalam neroli)
geraniol (dalam geranium) geranium)

nerol
neroli geraniol
lavendulol

lavender
 Physical properties
• Although volatile oils differ greatly in their
chemical constitution, they have a number of
physical properties in common:
1.They possess characteristic odors.
2.They are characterized by high refractive indices.
3.Most of them are optically active.
4.Their density is generally lower than that of water (the
essential oils of sassafras, clove, or cinnamon are the
exceptions).
• As a rule, volatile oils are immiscible with water, but they
are sufficiently soluble to impart their odor to water. The
aromatic waters are dependent on this slight solubility.
 Volatile oils  Fixed oils
• Several points of differentiation exist
between volatile oils and fixed oils.

1. Volatile oils can be distilled from their natural

sources.
2. Volatile oils do not consist of glyceryl esters of
fatty acids. Hence, they do not leave a
permanent grease spot on paper and cannot
be saponified with alkalies.
3. Volatile oils do not become rancid as do the
fixed oils, but instead, on exposure to light
and air, they oxidize and resinify.
 Preparation of volatile oils
• The principal methods used in the
preparation of volatile oils from plants
depend on:
1. Distillation in water or steam.
2. Scarification and expression.
3. Extraction with solvents.
4. Enzymatic hydrolysis (for glycosidic volatile oils
e.g. mustard oil).
5. Enfleurage (extraction of oils used in perfumery).
Uses of drugs containing essential oils

• Pharmacy
• Perfumery
• Food technology
• Miscellaneous industries (as starting
materials for the synthesis of the active
principles of medicines, vitamins, and
fragrances).
 KOMODITAS UTAMA EKSPOR
MINYAK ATSIRI INDONESIA

Minyak Nilam (Patchouli Oil),

Minyak Akar Wangi (Vetiver Oil),
Minyak Pala (Nutmeg Oil),
Minyak Cengkeh (Cloves Oil),
Minyak Sereh Wangi (Citronella Oil),
Minyak Kenanga (Cananga Oil),
Minyak Kayu Putih (Cajeput Oil),
Minyak Cendana (Sandal wood Oil),
Minyak Lada (Pepper Oil),
Minyak Kayu Manis (Cinamon Oil),
Minyak Masoi.
Tanaman Atsiri sebagai pestisida nabati (2): u/ HRT

1. Cengkeh (Syzygium aromaticum),

2. Nilam (Pogostemon cablin),
3. Seraiwangi (Andropogon nardus),
4. Selasih (Ocimum basilicum),
5. zodia (Evodia suoveolens),
6. lavender (Lavandula angustifolia),
7. geranium (Geranium redula),
8. cente (Lantana camara)
9. kenanga (Canangium odoratum)
10. Piretrum sp
 Tanaman Pestisida Nabati Atsiri
Penggunaan Langsung

Piretrum spp Cengkeh Kayumanis

Tidak langsung (Atraktan /repellent)

• Meulaleuca
• Selasih
• Mimba
• Seraiwangi
• Nilam
• Zodia.
(METIL EUGENOL)
Steam Distillation – Oil of Cloves
Distillations:
Steam Distillation

1. Steam distillation arises from an interesting curiosity of

immiscible systems

2. The distillation of liquids that are fully miscible is governed by

Raoult’s Law
PT = NAP˚A +NBP˚B + NCP˚C + … (1)

• The mixture will have its own unique boiling point

• The contribution of each component to the vapor phase is
related to its partial vapor pressure and mole fraction

3. In the distillation of immiscible liquids, the two act as two

separate liquids

A B
Distillations:
Steam Distillation

4. The total vapor pressure above an immiscible system is equal

to the sum of the vapor pressures independent of their
relative amounts
PT = P˚A + P˚B + P˚C + … (2)

5. The mixture will boil at a temperature

typically lower than either liquid

6. Consider a mixture of iodobenzene and water:

At 98 oC the value of each vapor pressure is:
I
H
O
H

46 torr + 714 torr = 760 torr Mixture boils!

Distillations:
Steam Distillation
B. Uses/Apparatus
• This method is typically used to
extract the volatile components of
plants for use in perfumery, flavors or
aromatherapy products.

• Steam distillation is used in the

industries that produce these
products as well as amateur set-ups
like this one
Steam Distillation of an Essential Oil

We will be using
a modification of
the distillation
apparatus in the
text
Steam Distillation of an Essential Oil

The liquid will be

transferred to a
large separatory
funnel and
extracted with
methlyene The essential oil extract is soluble in
H2O
chloride CH2Cl2 methlyene chloride, not water – So
draining the lower methylene chloride
CH2Cl2
layer, and evaporating the methylene
chloride, will afford the extracted oil –
Steam Distillation of an Essential Oil

The methylene
chloride extract will
be dried by passing it
through a disposable about
pipette filled with 1.5 in. of Na SO2 4
anhydrous Na2SO4 cotton plug
drying agent

Inverted funnel acts

as disposable pipet
holder

– you will obtain a weight of

the material (it won’t be much) Apparatus for drying
and calculate a % recovery ether solution
based on the original mass of
plant material
Steam Distillation of an Essential Oil

qualitatively – to determine
We will analyze the
which components are in the oil
essential oil by gas
chromatography…

and quantitatively to determine the

relative amounts of each component