Chemical Composition and Physico-Chemical Analysis of Eucalyptus Globulus Leave and Oil

Abstract

<i>Eucalyptus globulus</i> grows well in different parts of the world. More than 300 species of this genus have been shown to contain volatile oil. Essential oil contains many hundred chemical elements and this advanced mixture of compounds offers the oil its characteristic fragrance and flavor. The investigation has been carried out to know the chemical composition, Physico-Chemical properties of essential oils and <i>Eucalyptus globulus</i> leave grown at Ankober woreda, Ethiopia. To extract the essential oil, the fresh leaves of <i>Eucalyptus globulus</i> were subjected to hydro distillation for 3 hours using a Clevenger-type apparatus and the percent yield was 2.1%. Physico-chemical properties such as refractive index (1.451), relative density (0.925), optical rotation (+8o), Solubility, color and odour were determined. Physico-chemical analysis of <i>Eucalyptus globulus</i> leaves such as total ash, water soluble ash; acid insoluble ash, moisture content and pH were found to be (6.09), (2.18), (2.22), (35.32) and (5.43) respectively. The composition of essential oils of <i>Eucalyptus globulus</i> were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). A total of twenty volatile components were identified in this work. The main components of the essential oils are Alpha-Pinene (25.55%), D-Limonene (5.687%) and Eucalyptol (55.43%).