Analysis of Essential Oil Constituents in Rhizome of Curcuma caesia Roxb. from South India

Abstract: The essential oil extracted by hydro-distillation from rhizome of Curcuma caesia Roxb. grown in southern India were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A total of 35 volatile essential oil components were identified in the extracted oil of C. caesia representing tropolone (15.86 %) as major compound, ledol (3.27 %), β-elemenone (3.03 %) and α-bulnesene (3.02 %), spathulenol (2.42 %) as minor compounds and borneol (0.85 %), α-terpineol (0.77 %), eucalyptol (0.62 %), caryophyllene (0.45 %) as trace compounds. The results from our analysis indicated that levels of sesquiterpene (62.8 %) were more than those of monoterpene components (1.4 %).