oilsFresh rhizomes were washed, sliced, homogenized with distilledwater and subjected to hydrodistillation for 4 h using a Clevengerapparatus with a water cooled receiver. At the end of the dis-tillation process, the essential oil which separated on the watercolumn was collected, and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate.The oil was centrifuged, the volume was measured and stored at.20.C. The essential oil of C. longa, which was analyzed alongwith the other Curcuma species was also included for compari-son.