Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic ... - Capacity4Dev

PREFACE
the latest extraction methods for aromatic plants include headspace trapping,
solid phase micro-extraction, protoplast extraction, microdistillation,
thermomicrodistillation and molecular distillation.
With the increasing demand for herbal medicinal products, nutraceuticals,
and natural products for health care all over the world, medicinal
plant extract manufacturers and essential oil producers have started using
the most appropriate extraction technologies in order to produce extracts
and essential oils of defi ned quality with the least variations from batch to
batch. Such approach has to be adopted by MAP-rich developing countries
in order to meet the increasing requirement of good quality extracts and essential
oils for better revenue generation within the country, as well as for
capturing this market in developed countries.
The basic parameters infl uencing the quality of an extract are
the plant parts used as starting material, the solvent used for extraction, the
manufacturing process (extraction technology) used with the type of equipment
employed, and the crude-drug:extract ratio. The use of appropriate
extraction technology, plant material, manufacturing equipment, extraction
method and solvent and the adherence to good manufacturing practices
certainly help to produce a good quality extract. From laboratory scale to pilot
scale, all the conditions and parameters can be modelled using process
simulation for successful industrial-scale production.
With the advances in extraction technologies and better knowledge
for maintaining quality parameters, it has become absolutely necessary
to disseminate such information to emerging and developing countries with
a rich MAP biodiversity for the best industrial utilization of MAP resources.
The experts at the South-East Asian (SEA) Regional Workshop
entitled ˝Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants,˝ held in
2006 in Lucknow, India, agreed to prepare a publication on extraction principles,
technologies and analytical techniques for quality control of raw materials
and processed products in the form of extracts and essential oils for medicinal
and aromatic plants. This book focuses on different techniques of hydrodistillation,
steam distillation, cohobation and fractional distillation of volatile oils
from aromatic plants and on water-solvent extraction and supercritical fluid
extraction for medicinal plant extracts. It also discusses general, specific and
advanced technologies for preparing extracts of medicinal plants and the extraction
of volatile oils and fragrances from aromatic plants. This book is intended
to equip emerging and developing countries with techniques of extraction
that can help them to produce economical and globally competitive quality
extracts.
Gennaro Longo
Chief of Environment Area
Special Adviser on Technology Development
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