Page 33 - วารสารกรมการแพทย์แผนไทยฯ ปีที่ 5 ฉบับที่ 1

Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine Vol. 5 No. 1 January - April 2007 ÛÒ

around 8-9 pm, with their scent becoming quickly wide- are changed daily until the fat is saturated with the
spread; the scent begins to fade in the afternoon. fragrance and then the volatile oils are isolated from the
Gardeners usually collect the flowers twice a day: at8-9 fat . Owing to the fact that the enfleurage method com-
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pm and at dawn . M. alba acts as a cough suppres- monly uses spermaceti and wool fat, the cost of produc-
sant and expectorant in induced tests in animals . tion is therefore very high. Furthermore, neither of these
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According to research from China, the extract from two fats are manufactured in Thailand; hence, the
double distillation of 600 g of M. alba fresh flowers with enfleurage method is unpopular in this country. How-
1.2 L water used in the ratio of 4:1 was successfully ever, if a cheaper animal fat were available that could
used to treat bronchitis patients with, a 75 per cent be used to adsorb flower fragrance instead of the costly
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recovery rate . Dry M. alba flowers are also used in ones, the enfleurage method would likely become much
Thai traditional medicine for heart and nerve mainte- more popular in Thailand.
nance and anti-motion sickness . In addition to the
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encouraging pharmacological actions, M. alba is among
the wouldûs most famous fragrant flowers; its oil is one Objectives
of the common ingredients in several expensive The main purpose of this study was to develop a
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perfumes . Various methods are used to extract the practical technique at an affordable price to extract high-
volatile oil from aromatic plants, the most common quality volatile oil from fresh M. alba flowers. Further-
being steam distillation due to the convenience of the more, the study was intended to compare the physical
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method and its low cost . Solvent extraction is appearance and chemical constituents of the volatile oil
another method for extracting volatile oils applied to extracted by various techniques: steam distillation, hex-
heat- sensitive plants in order to avoid the decomposi- ane (solvent) extraction and the enfleurage method. Gas
tion of fragrant compounds in the oil. However, the chromatography-mass spectrometry data were used to
solvent extraction method involves a high cost owing to determine the chemical composition of the extracted
the necessity for removing the solvent from extracted volatile oils. The study also developed an extraction
oils, which is an expensive process . Currently, solvent procedure involving buffalo fat, which is available in
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extraction by liquid carbon dioxide is an effective tech- Thai markets, to adsorb fat for the enfleurage method.
nique for yielding a high-purity volatile oil, with the
solvent residue from the extracted oil being completely
removed; nonetheless, this technique also involves con- Materials and Methods
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siderable expense . Another method for volatile oil
extraction is a traditional one, enfleurage, originating in Source of M. alba flowers
Grasse, France. This method utilizes animal fats to M. alba flowers were bought in the Sompong Gar-
adsorb the fragrant compounds exuded by the fresh den House and Sila House, Sila Subdistrict, Mueng Dis-
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flowers . Nowadays, with the advances in technology, trict, Khon Kaen province, Thailand from October 2006
the fragrance can be synthesized by chemical reaction to February 2007. Samples of flowers and leaves of M.
to produce an odor similar to that of the natural alba were identified by comparing them with herbarium
fragrance. However, the natural fragrance is still in voucher specimen number PS 4091, Faculty of Pharma-
demand; several factories in France widely use the ceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University. The blossoms
enfleurage method for fragrance extraction. The were collected early (6 -7 am) and used for extraction
enfleurage method is reportedly the process yielding oil immediately after purchase. The buffalo fat used in this
that has an odor most similar to that of fresh flowers . study was the fat near the testicle area of the Thai
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In the enfleurage method, a large, framed plate of glass buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) also purchased in Khon Kaen
is smeared with a layer of animal fat, and petals or province, during the period from October 2006 to Febru-
whole flowers are then placed on the fat. The flowers ary 2007.