Introducing Organic Chemistry Students to the Extraction of Natural Products Found in Vegetal Species

Abstract

This work constitutes a new strategy for teaching-learning the chemistry of natural products, being the students active participants in the process. Results showed in this activity contributed not only to the understanding of the subject but also turned out to be an important pillar of motivation. An essential oil is any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odor. Essential oils are also known as ethereal oil, volatile oil, aetherolea, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they are extracted, such as oil of clove. The oil is "essential" in the sense that it contains the "essence of" vegetal specie fragrance, the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. These can be extracted from different parts of plants such as stems, leaves and flowers. In this work, two conventional methods (steam distillation and Soxhlet extraction) and one non-conventional method (microwave-assisted extraction), was developed under different conditions from clove. The yield of clove oil and yield of eugenol were obtained; and the concentration of eugenol present was assessed by gas chromatography. The main objective was that the experimental activity with the theoretical foundation will provide to the students of organic chemistry the ability to link concepts and develop skills in the laboratory.

Synthesis and Encapsulation of bis-eugenol in a Mesoporous Solid Material: Enhancement of the Antioxidant Activity of a Natural Compound from Clove Oil

“…The peaks obtained by injecting the samples were identified and quantified using standard solutions of methyl salicylate, and the percent recovery of eugenol was determined. Details are given elsewhere [44]. Yields (Y) of the process were calculated by equations (1) and (2): Eugenol was extracted from clove essential oil according to [45] dried under anhydrous sodium sulphate.…”

Sustainable Synthesis of CO2-Derived Polycarbonates from the Natural Product, Eugenol: Terpolymerization with Propylene Oxide

“…The approach, we and others have used for dealing with the need for more sustainable polymers to satisfy the advantages of these materials while reducing their detrimental impact on the environment, has involved the copolymerization of an epoxide (preferably biomass-derived) and carbon dioxide. − One such non-petroleum-based epoxide precursor which can readily be obtained from naturally occurring oils is eugenol. Eugenol is a member of the allyl benzene class of compounds and is a colorless liquid which can be extracted from essential oils, such as clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil, and bay leaves. − It is cultivated in many parts of the globe from India to Brazil and can be conveniently obtained by various processes, including hydro-distillation and numerous extraction techniques. − Importantly, it is a weakly acidic phenolic compound on the FDA-GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list.…”

Explorations into the sustainable synthesis of cyclic and polymeric carbonates and thiocarbonates from eugenol-derived monomers and their reactions with CO2, COS, or CS2

“…Conventionally, eugenol is obtained by hydro-distillation, Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, or supercritical CO 2 extraction. [30][31][32][33][34] In addition to these plant sources, eugenol can be synthetically produced by alkylation of guaiacol. 35 Eugenol derivatives have found widespread applications in biomedical fields, mainly used in dentistry as a root canal sealer, 36,37 and as an active packaging material due to its potent antibacterial and antioxidant properties.…”