Application of a home‐made supercritical fluid extraction system to the study of essential oils

Abstract

Using a home‐made supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) system, SFE‐CO2 extracts with chemical composition comparable to those of the essential oils obtained by a traditional steam distillation procedure were obtained from two Lauraceae samples. Both the steam distillation oils and the SFE‐CO2 extract of Ocotea caesia Mez (Lauraceae) contained the oxygenated sesquiterpenes bisabolol and nerolidol as the main components. Copyright © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd