https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.63.01.25.8607

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Optimization and Validation of Maceration-Mediated Hydrodistillation to Extract Caryophyllene-Rich Essential Oil from Sea-Buckthorn Berries

Zainab Liaqat¹, Sumia Akram², Rizwan Ashraf³, Muhammad Umair Kamal³, Rabia Naeem¹ and Muhammad Mushtaq^1*

¹Department of Chemistry, Government College University Lahore, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan

²Division of Science and Technology, University of Education Lahore, Lahore 54770, Punjab, Pakistan

³Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Punjab, Pakistan

Copyright © 2024 This is a Diamond Open Access article published under CC-BY licence. Copyright remains with the authors, who grant third parties the unrestricted right to use, copy, distribute and reproduce the article as long as the original author(s) and source are acknowledged.

Article history:

Received: 21 February 2024

Accepted: 9 January 2025

Keywords:

sea-buckthorn berries; essential oil; caryophyllene; maceration mediated hydrodistillation; GC-MS; antioxidant activities

The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.

Summary:

Research background. Hydrodistillation (HD) is a convenient and economic method to extract essential oils but this technique has been precluded for limited recovery rates. Maceration-mediated hydrodistillation (MMHD) in comparison to conventional HD method could increase mass transfer and offer better control over extraction thermodynamics which will eventually preserve the aroma constituents and retain their antioxident activities.The present study describes an expedient and innovative modification in conventional HD by introducing a macerating agent Triton x-100 (Tx-100) and NaCl as an electrolyte to accelerate mass transfer for better recovery of caryophyllene-rich essential oil from sea-buckthorn berries.

Experimental approach. The parameters of maceration-mediated hydrodistillation (MMHD) including concentration of macerating agent, electrolyte, and withholding time were investigated within a wide range of 1−10 %, 1−10 g/100 mL, and 3−8 h respectively to enhance the oil yield (g/100 g). parameters were optimized following the desirability approach through response surface methodology.The essential oil obtained under optimum conditions was characterized for its antioxidant activities via in vitro antioxidant assays and aroma profile using gas chromatography hyphenated with mass spectrometery (GC-MS).

Results and conclusions. The optimized parameters for MMHD were observed at 4.22 mL of Tx-100, 4.03 g of NaCl for 5.61 h of extraction time offered (3.24±0.14) % essential oil compared to the conventional HD which produced 2.10 %. The essential oil produced via MMHD was found rich in (−)-β-caryophyllene (37.25 %) with good antioxidant activities in terms of free radical scavenging capacity (84.2 %), inhibition of linoleic-acid peroxidation (68.16 %), and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (168 µmol Trolox equivalents/mL).

Novelty and scientific contribution. Tx-100 may disrupts the cell membranes to release the bioactives while, NaCl salt reduces the solubility of non-polar components of essential oil in the aqueous phase which ultimately can improve the extraction yield. The proposed approach can work with already present hydrodistillation setups with small modifications and seems to be more economical for the extraction of sea-buckthorn essential oil without compromising its antioxidant potential or valuable aroma constituents at industrial scale.