Influence of choline chloride-based NADES on the composition of Myristica fragrans Houtt. essential oil
Daniela Lanari, Claudia Zadra, Francesca Negro, Rima Njem, Maria Carla Marcotullio
Abstract
Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have emerged as green extracting solvents in recent years. In this study, a variety of choline chloride (ChCl)-based natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) were used as co-solvents for the hydrodistillation of nutmeg with the aim to obtain M. fragrans essential oil (EO) in higher yield and with a lower content of toxic phenylpropenoids (e.g. myristicin and safrole). The influence of ChCl-based NADES as additives in the hydrodistillation process was studied. The results showed that NADES additives improved the yield of the extracted essential oil and influenced its composition leading to a decrease in toxic phenylpropenoids. Best results were achieved by using ChCl-CA NADES ultrasound-assisted pretreatment coupled with traditional 2 h Clevenger hydrodistillation that increased the yield of the EO from 0.98% (traditional) to 1.41% and a decrease of the phenylpropenoids amount in the essential oil.