Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) essential oil and extracts obtained by supercritical fluid extraction

Abstract

The extracts obtained from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) by hydrodistillation and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) were qualitative and quantitative analyzed by GC-MSand GC-FID. Essential oil (EO) content of basil sample, determined by an official method, was 0.565% (V/w). The yields of basil obtained by SFE were from 0.719 to 1.483% (w/w), depending on the supercritical fluid (carbon dioxide) density (from 0.378 to 0.929 g mL-1). The dominant compounds detected in all investigated samples (EO obtained by hydrodistillationand different SFE extracts) were: linalool, as the major compound of basil EO (content from 10.14 to 49.79%, w/w), eugenol (from 3.74 to 9.78%) and δ-cardinene (from 3.94to 8.07%). The quantitative results of GC-MS from peak areas and by GC-FID using external standard method involving main standards, were compared and discussed.