Influence of two extraction methods on essential oils of some Apiaceae family plants

Abstract

Background Renewed interest in natural materials as food flavors and preservatives has led to the search for suitable essential oils. One factor that influences the essential oil content (%) is the extraction method used. Carum carvi (caraway), Anethum graveolens L. (anise), and Pimpinella anisum L. (dill) are well known plants from Apiaceae family widely spread in Egypt, where they have good climatic and soil conditions for high yield and good quality. Essential oil content is the main criteria for determining the quality of the fruits of these plant species. The aim of the study was to choose the best method for essential oil extraction. Objective The present research was conducted to evaluate the possible impacts of two types of distillation methods − hydrodistillation and hydro-steam distillation on essential oil content (%) and its main constituents of caraway, anise, and dill fruits. Materials and methods Seeds of the three species were subjected to two types of distillation methods − hydrodistillation and hydro-steam distillation. The essential oil content (%) of the three plants were determined and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses was carried out to identify the chemical constituents of the oil samples and their percentage were calculated in order to clear the effect of the two extraction methods applied. Results and conclusion It was established that while hydrodistillation gave higher essential oil yields for caraway and dill seeds (3.14 and 2.36%, respectively), hydro-steam distillation gave the maximum mean values of essential oil content of anise seeds (0.76%). The maximum values of the main components such as carvone (54.45%), transanethole (98.97%), and carvone (57.71%) were obtained as a result of hydrodistillation method for caraway, dill, and anise seeds, respectively.