Investigation of Increasing Essential Oil and Maintaining Forage Quality and Digestibility of the Prangos ferulacea using an Optimizer Apparatus Design

The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the essential oil and forage quality optimizer (EFO) apparatus to improve oils, while preserving forage quality and digestibility for the first time. Prangos ferulacea L. Lindl aerial parts were collected and used for the essential oil, forage quality, and digestibility analysis. Effects of temperature treatments (60, 75 and 90 °C) at EFO method on essential oil were compared to steam distillation. After the oil extraction, the nutrient compositions were measured and compared with the samples of before extracting. The results showed a significant increase in the content of essential oil in 75 °C compared to the other treatments (p<0.05). Also, the quality and the digestibility of fodder were as follows: SD method < before the essential oil extraction < the EFO innovative method (75 °C). Therefore, temperature of 75 °C in EFO was concluded as the optimum temperature, for increasing both of the quality and quantity of oil as well as preserving the quality and digestibility of forage. It is suggested that the EFO can be tested to obtain a more qualitative essential oil and forage that can be exploited in the pharmaceutical and animal food industry