Supercritical extraction of volatile and fixed oils from Petroselinum crispum L. seeds: chemical composition and biological activity

• Published in: Natural product research 2022-04, Vol.36 (7), p.1883-1888
• Main Authors: Piras, A, Porcedda, S, Falconieri, D, Fais, A, Era, B, Carta, G, Rosa, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholinesterase - analysis; Butyrylcholinesterase - analysis; Carbon Dioxide - chemistry; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid - methods; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Petroselinum; Plant Oils - chemistry; Seeds - chemistry
• ISSN: 1478-6419; 1478-6427
• DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2020.1810031

The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of volatile and fixed oil from milled parsley ( L.) seeds, using CO as solvent, is presented in this study. Extraction experiments were carried out in two steps: at pressures of (90 or 300) bar and temperature of 40 °C. The first extraction step, performed at 90 bar, produced a volatile fraction mainly formed by apiole (82.1%) and myristicin (11.4%). The volatile oil yield was 2.6% by weight of the charge. The second extraction step, carried out at 300 bar produced a fixed oil at a yield of 0.4% by weight. The most represented fatty acids in fixed oil were 18:1 n-12 (49.9%), 18:2 n-6 (18.2%), 18:1 n-9 (11.8%), and 16:0 (7.4%). In particular, the unsaturated fatty acids 18:1 n-12 and 18:1 n-9 averaged 182.2 mg/g and 92.1 mg/g of oil extract, respectively. The quality of the oils extracted by SFE, in terms of its chemical composition, was compared to the oils obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) in a Clevenger apparatus and by solvent extraction (SE) using -hexane in a Soxhlet apparatus. The antioxidant properties were determined by means of the ABTS assay. The results indicated that the fixed oil possessed low antioxidant activity (EC = 0.4 mg/mL) and the volatile oil had no antioxidant activity. The total phenolic content, expressed as concentration of gallic acid (gallic acid equivalent, GAE), of the fixed oil was 1.5 mg/g. The fixed oil found to have inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase, the volatile oil is active on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), tyrosinase, and α-glucosidase. Both samples have weak inhibitory activity on α-amylase and no activity on butyrylcholinesterase (BChE).