Effect of Drying and Hydrodistillation Time on the Amount of Ginger Essential Oil

The objective of this research is to study the effect of drying and hydrodistillation time on the amount of ginger (<em>Zingiber officinale </em>Rosc.) essential oil. For this purpose, a hydrodistillation laboratory-scale extraction unit was employed. The fresh ginger were dried by air drying for 1, 2 and 4 days at ambient temperature. In general, ginger oil obtained in the form of bright yellow liquid with a distinctive aroma of ginger. The experimental results showed that the yields of the ginger essential oils were affected by the drying time of raw material and hydrodistillation times. The obtained essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and 12 compounds were identified. The major compounds of ginger essential oil were 1,8-cineole, geranial, geraniol, camphene and neral