Opens up opportunities to apply Quang Tri shallot essential oil
Research by scientists from Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, University of Natural Sciences (VNU), Nguyen Tat Thanh University has opened up a new opportunity to exploit Quang Tri shallots economically and effectively.
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Shallot (Allium schoenoprasum L. bulb) is a plant belonging to the Onion family, still used as a spice or traditional medicine to treat runny noses, headaches, dry coughs, and etc. Learning how to extract essential oils from Shallot is of interest because it has potential applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food.
Because the biological activity and chemical composition of shallot essential oil depends on factors, such as the conditions of the extraction process, the type of solvent, and the growing time, the researchers wanted to investigate the conditions of Hydro-distillation process, chemical composition in xylene solvent, physicochemical properties and biological activities of essential oils in Quang Tri, aiming to create a premise for extracting shallot essential oil at pilot level and practical application.
They have established an extraction method using a hydrodistillation device under appropriate conditions of NaCl concentration of 5−10%, raw material/NaCl solution ratio of 1.5−2, extraction time of 3 hour. The essential oil was found to have high antioxidant and antibacterial activity, with a minimum inhibitory concentration for E. Coli and S. pneumoniae pneumococcus at 0.156 μg/mL.
This finding suggests that shallot essential oil has potential therapeutic applications as well as a natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent.