The extraction of rosemary essential oil by steam distillation method

Abstract

Rosemary was introduced to Vietnam in around 2007. Rosemary essential oil has some useful properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal; It is extracted by several methods: hydrodistillation, steam distillation,  and microwaves/ultrasonic waves assisted hydrodistillation. This study researched the factors influencing the steam distillation process. The yield of obtained essential oil is 3.04% with the conditions: 300g input of dried and blended rosemary leaf (0.1-0.3cm), the temperature of the boiler at 195^oC for 70 minutes (for the evaporation rate of 0.045ml / S). Analysis results by GC-MS showed that the main components in essential oils: 23,630% of α-pinene, 15,349% of 1,8-cineole, 5,563% of borneol, and 5,517% of geraniol. The performance and composition of rosemary essential oil were compared to the hydrodistillation and  the microwave-assisted hydrodistillation methods.