Investigation of Costus Root Oil Composition

A study was undertaken to collect plants occurring wild in the forest for their chemical examination so that possibilities of their domestication and utilisation as a quality product in the organised sector could be visualised. In this context, the roots of Saussurea lappa collected from Chamoli district of state of Uttaranchal, India were subjected to extraction for their essential oil and its composition. It was observed the cold percolation with diethyl ether optimal quantity of oil. The analysis of oil obtained by cold percolation revealed that there was one chemical component, dehydroeostus lactone, which is thermolabile and decomposes fast during hydro-distillation. This particular component was isolated and its structure was determined with IR Spectroscopy and NMR. Essential oil obtained from castus root is not only important in medicine, but it has potential to the utilised in perfumery industry.