Screening of the profiles of the essential oils from the aerial parts of Nepeta racemosa using classical and microwave-based methods: Comparison with the volatiles using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction

Background & Aim:Nepeta racemosa is an herbal and medicinal plant and this report aims to   identify chemical compositions of the essential oils and volatiles of its   aerial parts through classical and advanced methods.  Experimental: Chemical profiles of the essential oils and volatile compounds from the aerial parts of Nepeta racemosa obtained through hydrodistillation (HD), solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME), microwave assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) methods were subsequently investigated by means of GC and GC-MS instruments.  Results: Totally, 25, 26, 24, and 24 components were identified in the chemical profiles, representing 98.1%, 96.6%, 97.7% and 96.4% of the total compositions when using the HD, HS-SPME, SFME and MAHD methods, respectively. In all samples, oxygenated monoterpenes were the major fractions of the chemical profiles with the exception of chemical composition of the essential oil of N. racemosa obtained by using the MAHD approach in which monoterpene hydrocarbons were dominant constituting compounds. In final, 4aα,7α,7aα-nepetalactone was the most abundant compound in the chemical profiles of HD, HS-SPME and SFME approaches while 4aα,7α,7aβ-nepetalactone oxygenated monoterpene was the most frequent compound in the MAHD profile. Recommended applications/industries: Using the advanced separation methods for isolation of the essential oils are economic, time saving and eminently suited compared with the classical and traditional separation methods. Moreover, the significance of this study relates to the fact that the essential oils, which are rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes could be regarded as powerful food preservatives and novel antioxidants.