A new and rapid process as an efficacy essential oils extraction system of Ammoides verticillata (Duby) Briq.

Abstract

Ammoides verticillata (Duby) Briq. (A. verticillata) is an aromatic plant belonging to the family Apiaceae. The present study optimized a rapid procedure of essential oils (EOs) extraction from the species. Two extraction methods were compared: hydro-distillation (HD) and Pressure Cooker Pre-treatment Hydrodistilation (PCPHD). The results showed that the maximum essential oil yield was obtained from 50 g of the uncrushed plant material after 15 min of maceration under a heating temperature of 250°C for HD. The results revealed that the PCPHD produced quickly higher A. verticillata essential oils yield (4.22%) for 90 min compared with the HD (2.88%) for 180 min. The PCPHD provided a high amount of oxygenated compounds compared to the conventional HD method. The extraction cost, time, and energy were significantly lower in the PCPHD method compared with the HD method. Moreover, the energy necessary to extract A. verticillata EOs was 2.1 kWh for 180 min of HD and 1.05 kWh for 90 min of PCPHD. The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere during HD extraction (1.68 kg CO2/g EOs) was higher than that released during PCPHD extraction (0.84 kg CO2/g EOs). In addition, the wastewater from the PCPHD (0.177 L/g EOs) was far less than that from the HD (0.26 L/g EOs). The PCPHD was an efficient green alternative and economical method to extract a high yield of the A. verticillata essential oil.