Study of yield, physico-chemical properties, chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oils of North Indian Vetiver roots

The highest oil yield was obtained from lachha followed by nakhuni and munjhar (local names), irrespective of distillation methods. Similarly, in case of effectiveness of distillation methods, the highest oil yield was obtained from solvent extraction method followed by steam distillation and deg bhapka method. The oil yield ranged from 0.076% to 0.45%. Physico-chemical properties, were obtained from three commercial grades of vetiver roots quantitative comparison among the concentrations of vetivone, a key component known for its pesticidal value, was found higher in lachha by 11.73% and 30.35% as compared to nakhuni and munjhar, respectively. Bicyclovetivenol, the another important component known for its pesticidal value was found in higher concentration in lachha. The results indicated that irrespective of different grades of root materials as source of vetiver oil, the oils obtained from steam distillation method showed highest antifungal activity followed by solvent extraction method in all cases of graded root materials. It is observed that irrespective of extraction/ distillation methods, the oil obtained from lachha showed highest antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani followed by oil obtained from nakhuni.