Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Fatty Acids Compositions from Epiphyllum oxypetalum (DC.) Haw. Leaves Oil

Abstract

In traditional medicine, Epiphyllum oxypetalum (E. oxypetalum) is used to treat and promote wound healing and general health management. Due to the drawbacks of conventional extraction methods, such as using toxic solvents, supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide was proposed as a green extraction method for better results. This research aims to extract the E. oxypetalum leaves oil using supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide as the solvent and to determine the fatty acids composition in the extract of E. oxypetalum leaves oil. The extract of E. oxypetalum leaves oil was obtained via supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide due to non–toxic, lower temperature, non–flammable, economical, and readily available. To identify the ideal operating conditions, the extraction was carried out at different temperatures (40 and 60 °C) and pressures (20 and 30 MPa) for one hour. At a temperature of 40 °C and a pressure of 30 MPa, the maximum oil yield percentage (3.2 ± 0.20 %) was obtained. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis revealed that the extract E. oxypetalum leaves oil contained six fatty acids compounds which are oleic acid (30.70 mol %), n–hexadecanoic acid (18.43 mol %), linoelaidic acid (10.27 mol %), myristic acid (6.56 mol %), dodecanoic acid (3.99 mol %), and phytol (3.41 mol %). The fatty acids composition presented in the extract of E. oxypetalum leaves oil have shown possible to be useful for subsequent applications in health and industrial uses.