Available online www.jocpr.com Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2015, 7(4):1080-1088 Research Article ISSN : 0975-7384 CODEN(USA) : JCPRC5 1080 Green extraction techniques: Effect of extraction method on lipid contents of three medicinal plants of Apiaceae Khaled A. Shams 1* , Nahla S. Abdel-Azim 1 , Wafaa A. Tawfik 1 , Heba D. Hassanein 1 , Mahmoud A. Saleh 2 and Faiza M. Hammouda 1 1 National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st. (former El Tahrir st.), Dokki, Giza, Egypt 2 Department of Chemistry, Texas Southern University, 3100 Cleburne Ave, Houston, TX 77004, USA _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Fixed oils (lipids) in the fruits of Celery (Apium graveolens L.), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill) and Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L.), plant fruits were extracted by three different extraction methods viz. percolation, Ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) and Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). The total yield of extracted lipids of the studied extraction methods were 9.80 g, 14.40 g and 8.75 g for Celery, 9.7 g,11.39 g and 9.42 g for Parsley and 13.6 g, 17.9 g and 13.72 g for Fennel. Petroselinic acid (C18:1), the characteristic fatty acid of Apiaceae family, was evaluated using GC/MS. The results revealed that both UAE and SFE enhanced the extraction efficiency of the fatty acid of Celery, Parsley and Fennel. UAE gave the highest percentage yield (75.6%, 71.6%, 76.4%), whereas SFE gave (66.4%, 69.8%, 43.1%) compared to the percolation method (58.7%, 62.8%, 61.4%). Also, the total lipids (mono …, di…, tri-glycerides, total free fatty acids and total fatty acid methyl esters) of the three different extraction methods of Celery, Parsley and Fennel fruits were evaluated using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). Ultrasonic -assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) not only enhanced the total lipid extraction but also saved time, reduced the solvents use and produced, ecologically, green technologies. Keywords: Celery (Apium graveolens L.), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L.), Ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE), Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), total lipids, Petroselinic acid, GC/MS, HPTLC. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Extraction forms the first basic step in medicinal plant research because the preparation of crude extracts from plants is the starting point for the isolation and purification of chemical constituents present in plants. Yet the extraction step remains often a neglected area, which over the years has received much less attention and research [1,2]. The traditional techniques of solvent extraction of plant materials are mostly based on the correct choice of solvents and the use of heat and/or agitation to increase the solubility of the desired compounds and improve the mass transfer. Usually the traditional technique requires longer extraction time thus running a severe risk of thermal degradation for most of the phyto-constituents. Thus, the major significant shortcomings of traditional extraction techniques is the lengthy extraction time that can be 8, 16, and 24 hours or more, which results in consumption of considerable time and heat energy [3,4]. The fact that one single plant can contain several secondary metabolites makes the need for the development of high performance and rapid extraction methods an absolute necessity [5]. Keeping in pace with such requirements, recent times has witnessed the use and growth of new extraction techniques with shortened extraction time, reduced solvent consumption, increased pollution prevention concern and with special care for thermo labile constituents. Novel extraction methods including microwave assisted extraction (MAE) [6], supercritical fluid extraction (SCFE) [7-9], accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) [10], subcritical water extraction (SWE) [11] and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) [12] have drawn significant research attention in the