Extraction of Melaleuca cajuputi Using Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Solvent Extraction

Extracts of Melaleuca cajuputi were obtained by supercritical (carbon dioxide) extraction and solvent (hexane) extraction methods. This work is aimed at adapting the green technology of using supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) as solvent in a batch process to extract Melaleuca cajuputi leaves. The plant leaves were collected from Trengganu, Malaysia. Cajuputi extract analyses were performed by GC and GC/MS. The maximum yields obtained were 4.2% and 6.0%, respectively, by supercritical fluid (SEE) and solvent extraction (SE). Several compounds were identified and significant qualitative and quantitative differences were observed under different conditions. The major components of Cajuputi oil consisted of sesquiterpenes (delta-elemene, beta-elemene, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-humulene, 9-epi-beta-caryophyllene), their oxygenated derivatives (viridiflorol, platyphyllol, beta-eudesmol, bulnesol, (Z,Z)-farnesol and (E,E)-farnesal) and polyphenolic ketones (isoeugenitine and three unknown compounds).