Nadya Audina N Sadikin, Nurul Hidayah, M. Ariq Nazar, Dian Respati Ayu, Naufal Sebastian Anggoro
Curcuma longa L. rhizome is a highly valuable medicinal plant that is very rich in essential secondarymetabolites, particularly phenolic compounds and sesquiterpenes, which actively exhibit a wide variety ofbiological activities. The phytochemical composition of these turmeric extracts is strongly influenced bysolvent polarity, making ethanol concentration a highly critical factor in the overall extraction process.Therefore, this specific study aimed to evaluate the precise effect of different ethanol concentrations on thephytochemical profile of turmeric extracts using the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry method.Turmeric rhizomes were extracted through a maceration technique using 70% and 96% ethanol, and theresulting extracts were immediately analyzed. Extracted compounds were identified through comparisonwith the mass spectral library, and their relative abundances were determined using chromatographic peakareas. The comprehensive analysis revealed that both samples contained diverse bioactive phytochemicalspredominantly dominated by sesquiterpenes. Major constituents were ar-turmerone, turmerone, curlone, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, caryophyllene, and bergamotol. Consequently, the 96% extract producedsignificantly higher concentrations of ar-turmerone (33.30%) and curlone (12.11%) compared to the 70%extract (21.16% and 11.78%). Conversely, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol was found to be more abundant in the70% ethanol extract (3.91%) than the 96% ethanol extract (3.00%). These findings successfully validatesolvent importance.