The effect of pressure on the characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide extracts from Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta

Abstract

Chemists and industrialists are continuously attempting to develop greener and more environmentally benign chemical processes to extract essential oils and bioactive metabolites of high purity, finding various applications in cosmetics, detergents, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. An increase preferenced for natural products over synthetic ones has made supercritical fluid technology a primary alternative for the generation of high‐value bioactive ingredients. This effective technique requires only moderate temperatures, eliminates clean‐up steps and avoids the use of harmful organic solvents. In this context, our study was focused on the chemical analysis of Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta aromatic extracts obtained with supercritical carbon dioxide. The effect of different operating conditions on the capacity of the lipophilic solvent to extract the targeted volatile components was also studied. The process was carried out at a fairly low constant temperature of 40°C, and with varying the pressure from 90 to 300 bar. The chemical composition of the extracts was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. The results showed that the composition pattern, the concentrations of individual components and the quality of the extractable analytes were affected by pressure increase. The extraction yields varied from 0.73 to 1.21 wt% at 90 and 300 bar, respectively.

Chemical composition, antifungal and antibiofilm activities of essential oils from Glycyrrhiza foetida (Desf.) growing in Tunisia

“…However ß‐ caryophyllene (24.65%) was detected at a higher percentage in G. foetida collected from the northwestern part of Morocco. It is noteworthy that this variability can be related to the geographical origin, environmental factors, genetic variation and the harvest period (Debbabi et al, 2020; Majdoub et al, 2021).…”

Supercritical carbon dioxide technology in food processing: Insightful comprehension of the mechanisms of microbial inactivation and impacts on quality and safety aspects

“…Furthermore, it could promote the activation of enzymes, changes in the metabolic substrates for aroma compounds (mainly amino acids and fatty acids), and/or greater retention of the typical aroma compounds during processing due to its low impact on the structure of these small‐molecule compounds. However, at higher pressures, degradation reactions may occur (Amaral, Silva, Cavalcanti, et al., 2018; Debbabi et al., 2020). In these cases, it is advisable to recover the volatile compounds in the exit system and re‐incorporate them into the products (Amaral, Silva, Cavalcanti, et al., 2018).…”

An Overview of Herbal Nutraceuticals, Their Extraction, Formulation, Therapeutic Effects and Potential Toxicity

“…Debbabi et al have reported a change in extraction yield of bioactive components from Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta from 0.73 to 1.21 wt% at 90 and 300 bar, respectively [57]. On the other hand, lower pressures of parsley fruit extracts comprised mainly of the phenylpropene, apiole, were reported to have stronger antibacterial effects [58].…”