Evaluation of Flower and Essential Oil Production and Phytochemical Properties of Murraya exotica.

Murraya exotica, commonly known as orange Jasmine, belongs to the family Rutaceae. It is a popular hedge plant in the tropics and is commonly grown in gardens for its glossy green foliage and large clusters of fragrant flowers. The potential of Murraya exotica has never been fully exploited in Pakistan and very little work has been carried out on the flower and essential oil production of this plant. The present study was therefore carried out to explore the flower production potential of Murraya exotica under local conditions (Faisalabad region) with the aim to explore the crop as a high value non-traditional for value addition through essential oil extraction. Moreover, the standardization of the SCFE technology and comparison of essential oil extraction methods was done to obtain high quality essential oil. The study comprised of five experiments. In the first experiment, the effect of different levels of NPK (17:17:17) and FYM on growth and production of Murraya exotica flowers was investigated. The results indicated that an increase in fertilizer levels caused a significant increase in plant height, number of branches, number of flowers, size of flowers, fresh and dry weight of flowers with maximum values recorded in plants supplied with 20g NPK/plant/month + 4kg FYM. In addition, the same dose also significantly enhanced the nutrients contents (N, P and K) and photosynthetic pigments in the flowers. The super critical fluid extraction (SCFE) technology for the extraction of essential oil of Murraya exotica was optimized in the second experiment. A temperature of 40oC and pressure of 80 bar was found to be optimum for the obtaining the highest quantity and quality of essential oil through SCFE technology. The various methods viz. SCFE, solvent extraction and steam distillation were compared for their efficiency in extraction of essential oil in the third experiment. It was observed that the SCFE was the most economical and suitable method for essential oil extraction of Murraya exotica. Fourth experiment was comprised of the phytochemical analysis of Murraya exotica. It was revealed from the experiment that carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, phytosterols, alkaloids, flavonoids and proteins and free amino acids were present whereas fixed oils and fats and saponins were absent. In the fifth experiment, the effect of Alumina-buffered phosphorus (P) fertilizers on growth of Murraya exotica was compared with conventional P fertilizers. The results suggested that low but continuous supply of phosphorus (P) through Alumina-buffered phosphorus fertilizer was better than conventional fertilizers in improving the growth of Murraya exotica