Ultrasound-assisted extraction coupled with under vacuum distillation of flavour compounds from spearmint (carvone-rich) plants: Comparison with conventional hydrodistillation.

Ultrasonically assisted extraction of flavour compounds from different varieties of Mentha spicata, using 70% ethanol, have been carried out for 5, 10 and 15min and coupled with under vacuum distillation. The ultrasound distilled extracts have been analysed by GC-MS and compared with essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation. The results have showed that ultrasonically assisted extraction in combination with under vacuum distillation have provided extracts with higher flavouring strength due to the increased concentration of desirable oxygenated compounds (from 5 to 8 times) compared with hydrodistillation. Extraction yields of flavour volatiles have been calculated giving a range 0.04-0.13% by ultrasound and 0.01-0.02% by hydrodistillation.