The extraction of essential oils is generally carried out by
two main techniques: azeotropic distillation (hydrodistillation,
hydrodiffusion, and steam distillation) and extraction with solvents.
Enfleurage is a process that uses odourless fats that are solid at room
temperature to capture the fragrant compounds exuded by plants. On the other
hand, steam distillation is an alternative method of achieving distillation at
temperatures lower than the normal boiling point. This investigation consists
of studying the two methods of extraction of the essential oils of Mentha piperita: Steam distillation
(azeotropic) and Enfleurage (solvent extraction). The fresh mint sample was
collected during early morning hours from a garden at National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, Nigeria. The optimum
yield for the extraction of essential oil via steam distillation from Mentha piperita was obtained at 540
minutes, with production coming to an end at 1080 minutes yielding 1.36 % of
essential oil at 80 0C per 240 g of sample while extraction through effleurage
gives maximum yield at 900 minutes with production coming to an end at 1080
minutes. The extraction process recorded a percentage yield of 0.91 % at 80 0C.
In view of the above result, it implies that at a given condition, the steam
distillation method is comparatively a better technique for the extraction of
essential oils for optimal production. In addition, the compounds with the
highest GC-MS area percentage in the analysis of Mentha piperita were 2-hexyl-1-decanol (3.85 %) and L-Menthol,
which also has a high area percentage (3.54 %), which is of utmost importance
as the fragrance of mint oil extract and its peculiar flavour can be attributed
to the abundant presence of levo-menthol. Levo-menthol is used for the
treatment, control, prevention, and improvement of the following diseases,
conditions and symptoms, which include occasional minor irritation, Pain, Sore
mouth, Sore throat and Cough. It can be drawn without doubt that
steadistillation offers significant advantages compared over effleurage and can
therefore be best suitable for pilot-scale extraction of essential oils in
Mint. In conclusion, Mentha piperita
contains a substantial amount of essential oil components, making it a
promising candidate for perfume formulation and production.
Author(s) Details
M. Ibrahim
Department of Chemistry, University of Jos, Nigeria.
G. E. Ankwai
Department of Chemistry, University of Jos, Nigeria.
J. R. Gungshik
Department of Chemistry, University of Jos, Nigeria.
P. Taave
Department of Chemistry, University of Jos, Nigeria.
Please
see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mbrao/v4/5681
No comments:
Post a Comment