Data showing chemical compositions of the essential oils of the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus obtained by varying pH of the extraction medium.

This article describes the various chemical components as obtained from the oils in the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus using hydrodistillation and solvent-free microwave extraction methods. Furthermore, extractions of the oils were also carried out with a slight in pH variation and compared, "GC-MS evaluation of C. citratus (DC) Stapf oil obtained using modified hydrodistillation and microwave extraction methods" (Ajayi et al., 2016 [1]). The current article contains one table exhibiting a list of compounds in the four different methods of extraction. Comparative studies amongst the various methods of extraction are highlighted in the table.

GC-MS evaluation of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf oil obtained using modified hydrodistillation and microwave extraction methods.

Bioactive compounds of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil, using different media have been tentatively identified with the aid of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hydrodistillation was complemented using weakly acidic and alkaline media for the oil extraction. Solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) was also used. Analyses of the oils revealed the presence of 7, 16, 22, and 15 compounds in the water-distilled (WD), microwave-distilled (MD), acid-distilled (AD), and base-distilled (BD), essential oils, respectively. Total yield of the volatile fractions was 0.73%, 0.64%, 0.70%, and 0.45%, respectively. Citral was found to be the major component, the base extraction having the highest content. This was followed by 2-isopropenyl-5-methylhex-4-enal, p-cymene, and 2-thujene. The antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antioxidant activities and assessment of medicinal/nutritional uses of the essential oils are subjects of future studies.