Deodorization by Solar Steam Distillation of Rosemary Leaves Prior to Solvent Extraction of Rosmarinic, Carnosic, and Ursolic Acids

Abstract

This study aims total valorization of rosemary for food applications, moving toward developing an original biorefinery concept using solar steam distillation (SSD) to extract essential oil while preserving active compounds in the raw material, mainly antioxidants, for a further extraction. The deodorization process is important to avoid the extraction of antioxidants with strong aromas which limit their utilization for food preservation. The SSD process was compared with conventional steam distillation (CSD) for essential oil extraction as well as deodorization of dried rosemary leaves. The treated leaves were recovered afterward for the extraction of antioxidants by solvent extraction to recover rosmarinic, carnosic, and ursolic acids. With standard protocol extraction and analysis, the antioxidants seem to be mostly preserved by SSD rather than by CSD. The Folin–Ciocalteu reagent was used to determine the polyphenol content, whereas diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used to analyze the antiradical prope...