Tuberose absolutes of both
cold and hot processes were similar in appearance;
they were sticky, waxy orange-brown oils. The
absolute from the cold extraction was lighter in
color than from the hot extraction. The saturation
point of palm stearin (cold enfleurage) and palm
oil (hot enfleurage) for the absorption of essential
oil from tuberose flowers was 2,500 g flower/200
ml palm wax and 500 g flower/400 ml palm oil,
respectively and the yield varied from treatment
to treatment (Figure 1) with average yields of
0.3137% and 6.5808%, respectively. However, it
has been noted that the saturation point of fat
depends on the essential oil content in the flowers
and properties of the fat (Pensuk et al., 2007).
The absolute yields from cold enfleurage
were less than those from hot enfleurage in all
treatments. This was probably due to the heat used
in the extraction process, as the wax was able to
extract a greater yield from tuberose petals than
in the cold process (Alchemy Works, 2007).
Moreover, absolutes from both methods contained
palm wax and palm oil, which was extracted by
ethanol used in the process. The wax was more