neral can be seen at retention time of 10.49 min and
peak of geranial at retention time of 11.45 min.
Citral is a mixture of cis-citral compounds (also
called neral) and trans-citral compounds (also called
geranial).
5
The difference in retention time of both
compounds could be caused by the interaction of the
compound with the stationary phase in the gas
chromatographic system. The column used was
nonpolar, therefore the polar compound came out
first while the more nonpolar compounds would be
retained longer in the column. It can be concluded
that trans-citral compounds (neral) are more polar
than cis-citral (geranial) compounds.
8
The
normalization percentage of neral was 11,50% and
from geranial 77,95%. Thus, if added, the isolate
obtained by a 1:20 (w/w) sample – to - adsorbent
ratio had the purity of 89.45%.
All in all, the method of fractionation using column
chromatography optimized in this study has
provided pure isolate with high yield, despite using
an isocratic elution. Hence, the optimized method
has the advantages of an isocratic elution such as the
relatively fewer solvents needed if compared to
gradient elution. Another advantage of the optimized
method would be its suitability for preparative use in
large amounts. Yet further studies need to be done in
order to adapt this optimized method to larger scale.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The optimal mobile phase mixture to isolate the
citral from lemongrass oil (Cymbopogon citratus)
using column chromatography method is hexane-
ethyl acetate with a ratio of 97: 3 (v/v), and the
optimal sample-to-adsorbent ratio to isolate citral
from the lemongrass oil (Cymbopogon citratus)
using column chromatography method is 1:20
(w/w).
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