High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of nutmeg and mace oils produced by supercritical CO2 extraction -: comparison with steam-distilled oils -: comparison of East Indian, West Indian and Papuan oils

Nutmeg and mace oils, produced by supercritical CO2 extraction, are now increasingly traded. Unlike the steam-distilled oils, no information about their composition is published. Supercritical CO2 nutmeg and mace extracts from the East Indies, West Indies and Papua were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for myristicin, safrole, elemicin, eugenol, methyleugenol, isoeugenol, methylisoeugenol, methoxyeugenol and isoelemicin, and were very similar to steam-distilled oils from the same batch. East Indian, West Indian and Papuan oils displayed clear differences in their composition and could be clearly characterized by HPLC. The dominating aromatic ether in the East Indian oils was myristicin, in West Indian elemicin and in Papuan safrole.