Liquid Yield and Chemical Characterization of Maytenus Ilicifolia Mart. Ex Reiss Extracts Obtained from Co2 at High Pressures

This work is focused on the chemical characterization of Maytenus ilicifolia extracts obtained from high-pressure CO2 extraction. The experiments were performed in a laboratoryscale unit, where the effect of particle size (35-200mesh), CO2 mass flow rate (1 to 3gmin), temperature (293 to 323K), pressure (100 to 250bar), and extraction time was investigated in terms of liquid yield and chemical composition of the extracts. Results show that the particle size and CO2 mass flow rate did not affect the liquid yield, whereas the extraction temperature and solvent density exerted a pronounced effect on both liquid yield and chemical distribution of volatile compounds. The extracts chemical analysis carried out in a a GC/MSD permitted to identify phytol, squalene, vitamin E, stigmasterol, friedelan-3-ol, friedelin, dodecanoic acid and geranyl acetate as major components in the extracts.