title: Comparison between the conventional method of extraction of essential oil of Laurus nobilis L. and a novel method which uses microwaves applied in situ, without resorting to an oven.
abstract: A novel microwave method has been applied to the hydrothermal extraction of essential oil from plants. An insulated microwave coaxial antenna was introduced inside a 1000 ml glass flask containing dry Laurus nobilis L. leaves and tap water. Microwave power up to 800 W at 2450 MHz was emitted in continuous wave regime (CW) or in pulsed regime (PR) at 8 kW peak power. Stirring with a magnetic bar and a Clevenger refrigerator connected to the flask enabled to complete the extraction in 1 h. The results of the in situ microwave extraction were compared with those obtained by heating the same reactor with a conventional electric mantle by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Differences were observed both in the composition of the essential oil and from the energetic point of view. The essential oil obtained with microwave (MW) methods contained substantially higher amounts of oxygenated compounds and lower amounts of monoterpenes than conventional method. The in situ microwave heating is safe and versatile; it presents time and energy saving advantages, and therefore it can be considered useful also for industrial applications.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Bioorganica e Biofarmacia, Università di Pisa, Via Bonanno 33, 56126 Pisa, Italy. flamini@farm.unipi.it
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flamini
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tebano
authors.forename: Pier Luigi
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Cioni
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ceccarini
authors.forename: Andrea Simone
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Iginio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Longo
mesh_terms: D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D027442:Laurus / Q000737:chemistry*; D008872:Microwaves; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile