Superheated water extraction, steam distillation and SFE of peppermint oil

Superheated water extraction, steam distillation and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) are compared for extraction of l-menthol, menthone, eucalyptol and other components of peppermint (mentha piperita) leaves. Different temperatures and pressures were investigated. SFE results at 25/40 °C and 6.5/8/10 MPa were comparable with those reported in the literature. Although SFE is a gentle way of extracting thermally unstable compounds, this method is too slow for commercial use in comparison with steam distillation at 100 °C. Superheated water extraction at 125/150 °C and 1–2 MPa exhibits higher extraction efficiency than the SFE method. Comparison of all experiments under the chosen conditions shows steam distillation to be the most effective extraction method.