The Drying Effect on The Water Content and on The Essential Oil Content of Laurus nobilis L.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are promising and are characterized by the biosynthesis of odorous molecules that make up the so-called essential oils (EO), which have long been known for their antiseptic and therapeutic activity in folk medicine.The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of drying in the shade on the water content and on the content of essential oils extracted from leaves of Laurus nobilis L. for better quality control of medicinal and aromatic plants. The water content of the Laurus nobilis L. plant material decreases during the drying process. It increased from 100 % to 0.006 % for the drying in the shade after ten days. The moisture content is practically constant at the end of the drying period. The drying in the shade increases the concentration of essential oils of Laurus nobilis L. When the leaves of Laurus nobilis L L. plant are in the shade, the maximum of the essential oil content was obtained on the eighth day, the recorded value was 1.43% ± 0.01%. Beyond these periods, the content continuously drop in before stabilizing. The optimum drying time is between 6 and 9 days.