Optimization of gas chromatography operational conditions for analysis of ginger oil from Zingiber officinale var. Amarum

Ginger oil from Zingiber officinale var. Amarum (in Indonesia called jahe emprit) has a potential to be herbal medicine. Indonesia is a significant contributor country of the ginger oil after China. The quality of ginger oil is depend on the compounds composition. Usually, compounds of ginger oil are determined by gas chromatography. Optimization of the gas chromatography operational conditions needs to be done to achieve the best separation process. In this research, we optimized the column temperature, temperature rise in column, injection temperature, detector temperature and split ratio. As a result, the optimal separation of the main compounds in ginger oil is M₆ method. The operational condition of M₆ was performed with a gas flow rate of 1mL/minute; initial temperature of the column of 80°C; temperature increasing gradually by 3°C/ minute until reaching 200°C; Injector temperature of 280°C and detector temperature of 280 °C with a split ratio of 1:25. The main compounds of ginger oil from Zingiber officinale var. Amarum are α-curcumene, α-zingiberene, β-bisabolene, and β-sesquiphellandrene.