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The olive tree historically provided economic benefits to the countries in Mediterranean basin as a source of products contributing to health promotion. Some of the health benefits attributed to olive tree leaves are related to phenolic composition. In this study, a 10-point augmented simplex-centroid design was used to formulate a three-component mixture system using water, ethanol, and methanol, adequate for the extraction of phenolics from olive leaves. Phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity with 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), oleuropein, and luteolin7-O-glucoside concentrations were selected as responses. The optimal extraction mixture was: 12.7% water, 14.8% ethanol, and 72.5% methanol. The yields of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds, oleuropein, and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were 163.69 ± 6.35 mg gallic acid g−1, 114.69 ± 3.56 mg rutin g−1, 858.29 µg g−1, and 21.04 µg g−1 dry weight of olive leaves. The antioxidant capacity was 238.71 ± 4.35 mM equiva...

The aim of this work is to study the use of Ruta chalepensis essential oil as a bioactive substance in order to propose ways of valuation and rational exploitation of the plant. In this context, the extraction of essential oil was carried out using hydrodistillation process. 23 compounds were identified in the aerial part of Ruta chalepensis essential oil. The major compound is undecan-2-one (77.7 %). In addition, the phytotoxic activity of Ruta chalepensis essential oil was investigated. An important toxicity on the germination of the hard wheat was observed. Indeed, the rate of hard wheat germination passes from 65.55 % at 0.5 μ1.ml−1 essential oil concentration to 31.11% at 1 μ1.ml−1.

To evaluate the effects of hydrodistillation parameters and the vegetative cycle of the plant (Ruta chalepensis L.) on the global essential oil yield the response surface methodology was used. The parameters tested are the volume of water in the suspension to be distilled and the time of distillation. The third parameter is the vegetative cycle of the plant. The responses were the global extraction yield and the extraction yield of following essential oil compounds: 2-undecanone, 2-decanone, 2-dodecanone and 2-tridecanone. The optimal conditions selected for the total output of the extraction obtained from the analysis of the response surfaces are: time of distillation: 120 minutes; volume of water in the suspension to be distilled: 500 ml; stage of vegetation: January (young growths). The results show that the time of distillation and the stage of vegetation are the parameters more meaning on the global essential oil yield.

The extraction of essential oil was carried out using two processes: hydrodistillation and supercritical CO2 extraction. The chemical composition of extracted essential oil was determined. The yield of extraction by supercritical CO2 was about 7.8 %. This yield is more important than that obtained by hydrodistillation process (5.51 %). The chemical composition of the supercritical CO2 extract indicates the presence of only two compounds. The major one is undecan-2-one (100 %). The second one is limonene which is present as trace. However, 23 compounds were identified in the essential oil of the aerial part of Ruta chalepensis extracted by hydrodistillation process. The major compound is also undecan-2-one (77.7 %).