The cell walls of plants are made up of cellulose as the major composite and the hydrolysis of this polysaccharide has proven to be a major step in the extraction of many biomolecules. This research was on both pure and partially purified endo-1,4-D-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4 (cellulase) assisted extraction of essential oil from the seed kernels of Nutmeg by using a two-step protocol that involved the pretreatment of the sample with cellulase followed by the distillation of the essential oil using Clevenger apparatus. The essential oil obtained after pretreatment with pure cellulase was 8.2 % while 5.8 % of essential oil was obtained when treatment prior to hydro-distillation of oil was done with partially purified cellulase. An oil yield of 3.8 % was observed when no enzyme pretreatment was carried out. The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil obtained from the two-step protocol showed the presence of 25 and 24 components from the sample pretreated with the partially purified cellulase and pure cellulase respectively. There were three major groups of components observed from the essential oils. These are the monoterpenes made up of sabinene, α-pinene, and β-pinene; the sesquiterpenes made up of safrole and alpha-copaene; and the phenylpropanoid/aromatic compounds, composed of myristicin and methyl eugenol. The presence of these principal compounds in the major groups has given nutmeg essential oil improved value due to the possibility of incorporating them as functional ingredients in several products with possible applications in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, fragrance, flavour, and cosmetic industries.
Iko Wanen, Omeje Kingsley Ozioma, Ozougwu Vincent Eric and Eze Sabinus Oscar Onyebuchi, Chilaka Ferdinand Chiemeka
