Supercritical fluid extraction, Hydrodistillation and Soxhlet extraction of the aerial part of winter savory. Comparative evaluation of the extraction method on the chemical composition

Supercritical fluid extraction of the volatile oil of the aerial part of the winter savory was carried out in different conditions of pressure, temperature, mean particle size and CO2 flow rate and the results were compared with those obtaining by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger-type apparatus. The non-volatile components were extracted by SFE at higher pressures and by soxhlet extraction with different solvent mixtures. Concerning the volatile components, although the extraction yields of SFE and HD are quite similar, SFE extracts are richer in thymoquinone, a component with interest to the pharmaceutical industry due to is anti-cancer, antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties.