Sifat Antimikroba dan Pengaruh Perlakuan Bahan Baku terhadap Rendemen Minyak Sereh Wangi (Antimicrobial Properties and Effects of Raw Material Treatments on Citronella Oil Yield)

Citronella oil is one of the non-timber forest products (NTFP) and commercially obtained from the distillation of the leaves of the Cymbopogon nardus L. This study aims to determine the effect of the size of the distillation raw material and storage time of the raw material on yield and determine the antimicrobial properties of citronella oil from plants in the production forest Register 40 KPH Gedong Wani, Lampung Selatan Regency. The research was conducted using a complete randomized block design (RAKL) with two factors, namely the size of the distillation raw material (whole leaf, 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm) and the storage time of the raw material (fresh, 2 days, and 4 days) which was carried out in 3 replications. The variables measured were yield, specific gravity, and solubility of citronella oil in alcohol. The inhibition ability test of citronella oil against bacteria using essential oil obtained from distillation at the highest yield conditions, namely fresh leaves and leaf size of 5 cm using the diffusion well method. The results showed that the storage time factor, the size of the distillation raw material, and the interaction between the storage time and the size of the raw material had a significant effect on the yield of citronella oil. The highest yield of citronella oil was achieved in the condition of fresh leaves with a size of 5 cm, namely 2,09%. Density and solubility in alcohol of citronella oil produced met SNI 06-3953-1995 standard, respectively 0,8718-0,8928 g/ ml and 1:2. Citronella oil has strong antibacterial properties against Propioni acne, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus with inhibition zone diameters were 40,20 mm, 18,36 mm, 13,07 mm, and 18,80 mm, respectively. Citronella oil from plants in Register 40 KPH Gedong Wani has potential as a raw material for the cosmetic and disinfectant industry. Keywords: antimicrobial, citronella oil, yiel