Does the yield of essential oils of the old-harvest (about two years) medicinal plant decrease?
Yess, the quantity as well as the quality of the essential oil will degrade with time . With proper preservation practices the loss can be avoided for a short span like till it is processed , but 2 years is a long duration ,even the preservation techniques will not remain effective for that long.
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Dear Missoum, the question is quite extensive. It depends on many factors such as type of plant material, postharvest treatment, storage conditions, processing background (if any), etc. However, as considering your duration (2 years), it is not difficult to guess the degradation of essential oils in your plant material. Generally, it is advised for essential oil analysis using the samples as fresh as possible.
YES, the amount of essential oils DECREASE with passing time , it is clear that essential oils are volatile compounds which have very low melting points. So in order to get real amount ,must use fresh plant using verginor apparatus , in the case of dried plant , should be new dried and stored in closed container at dark place and used as soon as possible.
If in the same month picked the yield is almost the same. You should know that human beings change over time so the plant is fixed and draws nutrients from the soil, which is constantly changing and adapting to the environment.
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