Biochemical Characterization of Essential Oils Isolated from Post-Harvest Leaves of Curcuma longa L.

Essential oils from the post-harvest leaves of Curcuma longa were evaluated in an attempt to demonstrate that these supposed-to be agricultural-wastes can serve as the raw materials. Curcuma longa, also called as turmeric, is well known for possessing many beneficial properties. Therefore, in this study, essential oils from leaves of post-harvested leaves of ten varieties of turmeric were isolated and their biochemical properties were characterized. Our results indicated that the waste leaves still contained a considerable amount of essential oils, which varies between 0.374–2.087 percent among varieties. The essential oils from each variety show antioxidant properties albeit to a different degree which corroborate with the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Although chemical composition varies, however, few major components common in all varieties include -pinene, eucalyptol, ar-curcumene, trans-nerolidol,/bisabolene, bisabolone, zingiberenol and phytone. Thus, the findings concluded that the waste leaves can still serve as the raw materials for essential oils and has potential for usage in various applications as an antioxidant.