Improved Method of Recrystallization of Zingiber zerumbet Extracts to Obtain Zerumbones

The oil of the Zingiber zerumbet has been gaining traction amongst the researchers due to its phytochemical benefits mainly zerumbone. Due to the presence of a complex mixture of terpenoids in the oil, recrystallization is an effective method to obtain the active compound, zerumbone. Objective: This study was to optimized the recrystallization via decanting with hexane and evaporation method to produce the most yield that contain purified zerumbone crystals. Materials and methods: Ground dried and intact dried Zingiber zerumbet were compared to determine the highest yield of zerumbone crystals. A yield comparison between ground and intact dried Zingiber zerumbet was carried out through 6 hours of hydrodistillation followed by decanting with hexane. HPLC qualitative analysis was done on the purity of zerumbone crystals from ground and intact material respectively at wavelength 280nm. Results: After 6 hours of hydrodistillation, intact dried crude plant material produced 0.29%w/w more zerumbone crystals than the ground dried Zingiber zerumbet. HPLC qualitative analysis done on the purity of zerumbone crystals from ground dried and intact plant material were 98.51% and 99.68% respectively at wavelength 280nm. Discussion: A yield comparison between ground and intact dried Zingiber zerumbet that was carried out through hydrodistillation, exhibited significant difference (p