J. of Supercritical Fluids 48 (2009) 15–20 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Journal of Supercritical Fluids journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/supflu Review Comparison of extraction of patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) essential oil with supercritical CO 2 and by steam distillation A. Donelian a,∗ , L.H.C. Carlson b , T.J. Lopes a , R.A.F. Machado a a Laboratório de Controle de Processos, Departamento de Engenharia Química e Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, caixa postal 476 CEP: 88010-970, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil b Coordenac ¸ão de Engenharia de Alimentos/CCAA/UNOCHAPECÓ, Av. Sen. Attílio Fontana, 591-E, Bairro Efapi, caixa postal 747, CEP: 89809-000. Chapecó, SC, Brazil article info Article history: Received 12 September 2007 Received in revised form 7 September 2008 Accepted 10 September 2008 Keywords: Supercritical extraction Patchouli Essential oil Carbon dioxide abstract Patchouli essential oil is an important raw material for the perfume and cosmetics industries, besides being used as a natural additive for food flavoring. Patchoulol and -patchoulene are important compounds of patchouli essential oil, and their concentrations are directly proportional to the quality of the oil. Nowadays, the usual method employed to obtain patchouli essential oil is steam distillation; however, this causes thermal degradation of some oil compounds. In this study patchouli essential oil was extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) under different conditions of pressure (8.5 and 14MPa) and temperature (40 and 50 ◦ C) and also by steam distillation to compare the extraction methods. It was demonstrated that the extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide provided a higher yield and a better quality of patchouli essential oil. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 15 2. Experimental ......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.1. Material ........................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2. Supercritical equipment ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.3. Supercritical extraction procedure ........................................................................................................... 17 2.4. Steam distillation equipment and procedure ................................................................................................. 17 2.5. Chromatographic analysis .................................................................................................................... 17 3. Results and discussion ................................................................................................................................ 17 4. Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 19 References ............................................................................................................................................ 19 1. Introduction Patchouli oil is obtained from the leaves of Pogostemon cablin (patchouli), a plant of the Lamiaceae family, originating from Malaysia and India [1]. It is an important essential oil in the perfume industry, used to give a base and lasting character to a fragrance [2,3,4]. The essential oil is very appreciated for its characteristic pleasant and long lasting woody, earthy, and camphoraceous odor, as well as for its fixative properties, being suitable for use in soaps and cosmetic products [5,6]. It is also on the FDA’s (Food and Drug ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: adriana@enq.ufsc.br (A. Donelian). Administration) list of substances approved for human consump- tion, in section 172.510, as a natural additive for food flavoring [7]. Moreover, the plant (P. cablin) is widely used in traditional Chi- nese medicine as it offers various types of pharmacological activity according to the composition of the oil [1,8]. The composition of patchouli oil is unique and complex because it consists of over 24 different sesquiterpenes, rather than a blend of different mono-, sesqui- and di-terpene compounds [5]. The sesquiterpene patchoulol is the major constituent and is the pri- mary component responsible for the typical patchouli aroma. This essential oil is also characterized by a large number of other sesquiterpene hydrocarbons such as -/-/- patchoulenes, - guaiene, seychellene, and -himachalene. Although -patchoulene is found in small amounts, it is an important constituent of 0896-8446/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.supflu.2008.09.020