A Design of Experiment (DoE) Approach to Model the Yield and Chemical Composition of Ajowan (<i>Trachyspermum ammi</i> L.) Essential Oil Obtained by Microwave-Assisted Extraction

• मुख्य लेखकों: Eugenia Mazzara (लेखक), Serena Scortichini (लेखक), Dennis Fiorini (लेखक), Filippo Maggi (लेखक), Riccardo Petrelli (लेखक), Loredana Cappellacci (लेखक), Giuseppe Morgese (लेखक), Mohammad Reza Morshedloo (लेखक), Giovanni Filippo Palmieri (लेखक), Marco Cespi (लेखक)
• स्वरूप: पुस्तक
• प्रकाशित: MDPI AG, 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• विषय: article
• ऑनलाइन पहुंच: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/ph14080816; 1424-8247
• Keywords: <i>Trachyspermum ammi</i>; essential oil; thymol; microwave-assisted extraction; fractional factorial design; central composite design; Medicine; R; Pharmacy and materia medica; RS1-441
• Source: Pharmaceuticals, Vol 14, Iss 8, p 816 (2021)

Ajowan (<i>Trachyspermum ammi</i> L.) is a spice traditionally used in Middle Eastern medicine and contains a valuable essential oil (EO) exploited in different fields, such as pharmaceutics, agrochemicals and food additives. This EO is mostly characterized by the thymol to which most of its biological properties are related. Given the economic value of ajowan and its increasing demand across the globe, the extraction method used for its EO is of paramount importance in terms of quality and quantity of the final product. In the present study, we used the design of experiment (DoE) approach to study and optimize the extraction of the ajowan EO using the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), a novel extraction technique with high efficiency, low energy consumption, short process length and low environmental impact. A two-step DoE (screening followed by surface response methodology) was used to reduce the number of experiments and to improve the cost/benefit ratio. Reliable mathematical models, relating the more relevant EO features with the extraction conditions, were obtained and used to identify the best experimental conditions able to maximize the yield and thymol concentration. The optimized MAE procedure assures an EO with a higher yield and thymol amount compared with the standard hydrodistillation procedure.