<![CDATA[Drying is an important postharvest process that affectsmoisture content, simplicia stability, and essential oil yieldof aromatic materials. This study aimed to evaluate theeffects of sun drying, hot-air/oven drying, and vacuumdrying on moisture content and essential oil yield of clove(Syzygium aromaticum) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)simplicia, and to relate the moisture content and essentialoil yield results to GC/FID and GC-MS chemical profilebenchmarks from previous studies. Clove and nutmegsimplicia were identified macroscopically andorganoleptically, subjected to phytochemical screening,and dried using three drying methods. The dried simpliciawere extracted by steam distillation, and essential oil yieldwas calculated based on oil weight relative to driedsimplicia weight. Data were analyzed using mean±standarddeviation, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey's HSD test. Theresults showed that all drying methods reduced moisturecontent to below 10%. Vacuum drying produced the lowestmoisture content in clove (8.63±0.25%) and nutmeg(8.53±0.25%), and the highest essential oil yield in clove(13.33±0.15%) and nutmeg (6.60±0.10%). Hot-air/ovendrying produced the lowest yield. GC benchmark dataindicated eugenol as the main marker of clove oil, whilemyristicin and monoterpenes were more relevant fornutmeg oil. Statistical analysis supported significantdifferences in yield among treatments, whereas chemicalquality still requires confirmation using actualchromatographic analysis. Vacuum drying may be the mostpromising method for processing clove and nutmegsimplicia, particularly in terms of essential oil recovery andcontrolled postharvest quality.]]>
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