Indonesia was colonized by Europeans because they needed a place to get their spices. The Portuguese and Dutch arrived in the fifteenth century mainly to trade in nutmeg and cloves, the raw materials for essential oils. The two nations began to exploit spices in Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke because the European market valued them.
Indonesia is one of the countries that is currently a producer of essential oils. A good example is the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin (patchouli oil). Approximately 90% of the oil used in fixatives or fragrance binders, which prevent the evaporation of aroma components in perfumes, is supplied by distillation in West Java, Central Java, and East Java.
Similarly, distillation in West Java, Sulawesi, and Sumatra provides 75% of the world’s nutmeg oil. Vetiveria zizanioides (vetiver oil) from Indonesia is preferred to that from India, Tahiti, and Haiti because of its strong aroma.
Indonesia is a natural place for the essential oils industry. There are about 40 species of oils produced in Indonesia, of which 12 are commercially developed on an industrial scale, such as Patchouli (Nilam), Vetiver (Akarwangi), Cananga (Kenanga), Cajuput (Kayu Putih), Lemongrass (Sereh), Clove (Cengkih), Nutmeg (Pala), and Masoyi.
Masoyi (Cinnamomum massoia) from Papua was identified as an essential oil by research from the University Kebangsaan Malaysia and French presented at an international conference on essential oils in Singapore. Masoyi essential oil is expensive, going for about IDR 1 million per kg.
Around the world, the use of essential oils and the products derived from them is growing at an annual rate of 8 to 10 percent. This is true not only in Indonesia but also in other producing countries such as Haiti, Thailand, and India. The increase is driven by the growing need for industrial essential oils for fragrances, flavorings, and pharmaceuticals. The demand for essential oils is also on the rise as people adopt new lifestyles that include the consumption of natural ingredients.
Ancient Romans
A concentrated liquid called an essential oil contains scent ingredients derived from plants. It is essential in that it conveys the essence, or particular aroma, of the plant. It is believed that the aromas of lavender and jasmine were first used by the ancient Romans and Egyptians for bathing and massage. Roman scientists developed a special fluid from plants that release a pleasant scent. The liquid can soothe the person by stimulating the central nervous system.
In Indonesia, sweet-smelling plants are also a favorite and have been in use in the archipelago since royal times. As the Romans did, the fragrant aroma of essential oils was more widely used by Eve. She used them for bathing and beautifying her body.
Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat DI Yogyakarta Palace has a fragrant garden called Tamansari. Ylang trees (Cananga odoratum) are planted around the Tamansari complex. The fragrant ylang flowers are usually placed on the surface of the pool water when the princess of the palace bathes.
Plants with a sweet smell began to be studied by many experts. About 5 centuries ago, the Swiss medical reformer Paracelsus von Hohenheim (1493-1571) did not expect that his hypothesis would be the key to the development of essential oils in the world. Paracelsus described the distilled ingredients used to make Quinta Essentia extract. The extract was then ordained as the core of the drug. Like the essence of the drug, essential oils are also obtained using extraction.
Essential oils first came to prominence in the 16th century. At that time, several refineries in France were able to produce lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia). The lavender oil was packaged in small bottles. It was sold at a high price. The scent of lavender is popular because it can be a sexual enhancer for men.
Walter Reiff, an internee in Strasbourg, Austria, revealed that in addition to lavender oil, some industries in Europe at the time produced other high-priced essential oils such as clove oil and nutmeg oil.
Patchouli Variety
Patchouli is currently cultivated in lowland areas at an altitude of 0-500 meters above sea level. The intensity of the sun is stronger at lower altitudes, which makes the yield of Pogostemon cablin high. That’s because the oil glands of the patchouli leaves become more active.
Lower altitudes with higher temperatures also promote the formation of patchouli oil compounds, or patchouli, more quickly. The average temperature in the lowlands is around 27-31° Celsius. Conversely, highland temperatures range from 16-23° Celcius.
Patchouli farmers in the highlands can achieve high yields even when the agroclimatic requirements are not met. They do this by planting high-yielding varieties of patchouli, such as the sidikalang variety. The patchouli alcohol (PA) content of sidikalang reached 32.95%. Patchouli is also resistant to bacterial wilt and nematodes.
Experience in the regency of Sukabumi, West Java, has shown satisfactory results. Patchouli sidikalang, which is planted and then distilled using a steam system, has a yield of 1.8 percent. This percentage can be higher and can reach 2% with the maximum care of the plant. In addition to the use of urea, KCl, and TSP fertilizers, patchouli plants need to be given organic fertilizers and biological fertilizers.
Chemical Purified Essential Oils
Chemicals that can absorb color and increase metal ions are added to create chemically pure essential oils. These chemicals then react with specific oil components, chemicals, or complex compounds.
Chemical purification involves three steps: (1) adsorption with adsorbents such as bentonite, activated charcoal, or zeolite; (2) dissolution of complexing compounds with EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid), citric acid, and tartaric acid; and (3) removal of terpenes to improve flavor, solubility in dilute alcohol, stability, and shelf life of essential oils.
1. The adsorption process: the process of absorbing a substance (adsorbate) onto the surface of an absorbent material is known as adsorption (adsorbent). Adsorption is the binding of atoms, ions, or molecules to the surface of solids or liquids used as adsorbents.
Both polar and non-polar adsorbents are possible. Silica gel, alumina, and various types of clay are polar adsorbents. Charcoal (carbon and coal) and activated carbon are examples of unpolar adsorbents. Since activated carbon can absorb 90% of the oil’s pigment content, it is superior to clay.
However, because activated carbon has numerous holes and a large surface area, it can significantly increase oil loss. In practice, a lot of oil will remain on the activated carbon.
The color of patchouli oil refined by the adsorption method remains dark because the adsorption process is used to absorb colors caused by non-metal chemicals, but is unable to absorb colors caused by metal compounds. Clarity was changed from 4 percent to 13.1 percent by using 2 percent activated carbon and from 4 percent to 14.1 percent by using 2 percent bentonite.
2.Binding: Binding is the process by which metals are bound by the addition of chelating compounds that form metal complexes. The process is similar to adsorption except that the adsorbent is replaced by a chelating compound. Some chelating compounds include citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and EDTA.
Metal binding is an equilibrium process in which metals in essential oils react to form complex molecules. The result is less metal in the refined essential oil. The concentration of the compound present, the type of chelating agent, the speed and method of stirring, the contact time, and the filtration methods all affect the binding process.
3.Terpeneless method: In this method, terpenes chemicals are removed from essential oils before they are used to make perfume. This is done because the essential oil may have a stronger aroma. Terpenes can be removed using either dilute alcohol extraction or column chromatography with alumina sorbent. The amount of alcohol in patchouli can be increased from 31.69 to 55.29 percent by removing terpenes with dilute alcohol.
Physics Purified Essential Oils
By using physically pure essential oils, it is possible to increase the stability and quality of the oil during storage and transportation. Processing the oil to separate the colors is called refining. Refining removes foreign particles or materials that contaminate the chemical or compound. Dust, metal oxides (rust), resins, and other contaminants that are dissolved, dispersed, or emulsified in essential oils are examples. One of the methods of refining essential oils involves physical labor.
1.Redistillation: The mixture is first distilled after water is added to the distillation flask in a ratio of about 1:5. This brings the hot water into direct contact with the distillate. To avoid scorching the distillation residue, water must be added frequently.
To prevent oil degradation, heating should be performed using a steam heating tube (closed system). The vapor and water phases of a solution or combination can be separated by re-refining. By refining the oil, the transmission value (clarity) can be increased from 4 to 83.4 percent, the Fe content can be decreased from 509.20 ppm to 19.60 ppm, the patchouli alcohol content can be decreased from 30.4 to 6.10 percent, and the ester number can be increased from 8.331 to 14.089 percent.
However, disadvantages include (1) the low concentration of patchouli alcohol; (2) the lengthy process; (3) the increased fuel consumption; (4) the susceptibility of essential oils to damage due to high temperatures; and (5) the incompleteness of the oil production components.
2. Fractionated Vacuum Distillation: The fractionated vacuum distillation method distills two or more liquid components under extremely low pressure to separate them based on their different boiling points (pressure not exceeding 5-10 mmHg).
Using this method, a fraction with a low patchouli alcohol content and good clarity can be obtained. On the other hand, the remaining material has a dark color and a high purity of patchouli alcohol. Since the high boiling point component decomposes below its boiling point, the system is of limited use.
3. Distillation using the stepped plate system: In this process, glass plates are stacked in rows with a specific material flow rate and slope so that the oil flows through the plates by gravity. The components with a burnt odor are vaporized as the oil flows past the terraced plates.
In addition, the multilayer plate can hold contaminants with high coefficients of friction, which improves oil clarity. In addition, the use of a multilayer board throughout the refining process can lower the oil’s acid number and improve some of its physical properties, such as increasing its specific gravity and refractive index. According to research, vetiver oil can be refined using a multilayer board process to obtain high-quality oil.