The volatile oil parts of frankincense (Boswellia carterii Birdw.) were extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide under constant pressure (15, 20, or 25 MPa) and fixed temperature (40, 50, or 60°C), given time (60, 90, or 120 min) aiming at the acquisition of enriched fractions containing octyl acetate, compounds of pharmaceutical interest. A mathematical model was created by Box-Behnken design, a popular template for response surface methodology, for the extraction process. The response value was characterized by synthetical score, which comprised yields accounting for 20% and content of octyl acetate for 80%. The content of octyl acetate was determined by GC. The supercritical fluid extraction showed higher selectivity than conventional steam distillation. Supercritical fluid-CO(2) for extracting frankincense under optimum condition was of great validity, which was also successfully verified by the pharmacological experiments.

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