Chemical composition analysis of essential oil from black gingers (Kaempferia parviflora) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

Black ginger (Kaempferia parviflora or KP) is one of the popular Thai herbs that has valuable benefits for treating a variety of diseases. The essential oil extracted from its rhizome has pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antimicrobial activities. This study aimed to determine the chemical components of essential oils from ten KP cultivars which were obtained from different production areas located in Phu Tub Berk highland. The essential oils were extracted by steam distillation and their chemical compounds were analyzed by GC-MS. Twenty chemical compounds were identified from the essential oils of KP rhizomes with 6 major components including germacrene D (15.4±5.5%), α-pinene (11.2±6.4%), camphene (10.1±6.6%), borneol (9.2±2.8%), linalool (8.0±2.5%), and β-pinene (6.4±4.0%). The results showed the variation of the component percentages among ten cultivars. Top three cultivars which have the high percentages of those six compounds are ‘Nam Juang-1’, ‘Huay Sai’, and ‘Khun Nam Khap’, respectively. This study revealed the chemical compositions of essential oils from ten KP cultivars; however, the quantitative analysis of methoxyflavone in KP crude extract needs to be further investigated. Both essential oil’s components and methoxyflavone contents of ten KP cultivars will be beneficial to select the KP cultivars for pharmacological studies and promoting the cultivation in Phu Tub Berk highland’s communities.