Patchouli Alcohol Optimization from Pogostemon cablin Benth. cv. Sidikalang Leaves Using Response Surface Methodology

The demand for essential oils in the industrial sector continues to increase, proportional to the number of people using them.Pogostemon cablin popularly known as nilam in Indonesia produces patchouli oil with patchouli alcohol as the major compound.Patchouli oil has been used for a long time as perfume ingredients, cosmetics, aromatherapy, insecticides, and pharmaceutical products.Currently, the production process of patchouli oil in Indonesia is not optimal.In order to increase the results of patchouli alcohol, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) using ethanol 96% as solvent was performed for extraction and analyzed using gas chromatography (GC).Response surface methodology (RSM) statistic was used to calculate the concentration of patchouli alcohol with parameters microwave power (180-600 W) and extraction time (25-60 seconds). The experiment results showed the optimum conditions for extraction were 60 seconds at 600 W with patchouli alcohol (0.23%) and these result similar to patchouli alcohol (0.25%) predicted by RSM for 60 s at 600 W.