Essential oil composition of fresh ginger cultivars from North-East India

Abstract

Essential oils of seventeen cultivars of fresh ginger from North-East India were isolated by hydrodistillation and chemoprofiled by gas chromatograph (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Among all the constituents of essential oil, seventeen major constituents of all cultivars were emphasized. Major volatile constituents including camphene (8.49±0.41%), neral (4.95±0.34%), geranial (12.36±0.46%), zingiberene (20.98±2.34%) and β-sesquiphellandrene (7.96±0.66%) were observed. Assam Fibreless cultivar showed highest yield of essential oil (4.17±0.05%) and higher monoterpene hydrocarbon content (38.65±0.11%) than sesquiterpene hydrocarbon (25.38 ±2.3%), which is unique among all cultivars. Among all these cultivars, Assam Tinsukia had the highest citral content (23.66±1.60%) and Meghalaya mahima had the highest zingiberene content (29.89±0.42%). These results can serve as a valuable database for ascertaining the quality of fresh ginger for trading and manufacturing sectors engaged in ginger processing. This study is the first of its kind where the essential oil compositions of seventeen major ginger cultivars from North-East India are identified and compared.