engleski

Supercritical CO2 extraction of Vitex agnus-castus fruit

A traditional solvent extraction method requires relatively large quantities of solvents and often leaves the residue. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for optimized extraction techniques which provide shortened extraction time, reduce organic solvent consumption and decreased pollution. Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) technique presents various advantages over traditional methods, such as: the use of low temperatures, reduced energy consumption and high product quality due to the absence of the solvent in extracts. In SFE process environmental friendly CO2 is primarily used as the extracting agent (non-toxic, non-flammable, odourless, tasteless, inexpensive and readily available in large quantities, environmentally friendly and GRAS (generally recognized as safe) solvent). The aims of the present research were as follows: (1) production of the extracts from Vitex agnus-castus fruit by supercritical CO2 extraction under various process parameters, (2) investigation of chemical composition of obtained extracts by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The changes in extraction conditions affected the yield remarkably. CO2 extracts mainly contained β- caryophyllene, trans-β-Farnesene, bicyclogermacrene, 1, 8-cineole and sabinene.

Vitex agnus-castus; fruit; supercritical CO2 extraction; GC-MS profiles

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