Comparison of pre-treatment method in extraction of Aqualaria malaccensis

Abstract

Aqualaria malaccensis or gaharu is wood which able to produce unique aromatic scent, the most expensive of essential oil. The study on the contribution of pre-treatment process in the extraction of the essential oil was carried out by using hydro distillation. Soaking, ultrasonic, enzymatic and combination of ultrasonic with enzymatic pre-treatment were examined. The sample was pre treated for 3 hours and extracted for 3 days. In using different of pretreatment method in extraction of gaharu oil, combination of ultrasonication and enzymatic identified as the best pretreatment step. The orders of extraction efficiency for the most oil extracted from gaharu as a result of pretreatment are as follow: Combination ultrasonic with enzymatic > ultrasonic > enzymatic > soaking. In comparison to untreated sample, soaking technique improved the oil yield by 28% but, 54% was achieved in the extraction of sample pretreated with combination of ultrasound and enzymatic.