| Abstract
| - Safranal (2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyde) is the main component of saffron'sessential oil. It was obtained using microsimultaneous hydro distillation−extraction (MSDE) and byultrasound-assisted extraction (USE), which is a mild method. 4-Hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde (HTCC) is a precursor of safranal and was obtained in considerable amountsonly by USE. Five C13-norisoprenoids were found in saffron for the first time. Using a gaschromatography technique, safranal and HTCC were quantified from Greek saffron samples. Thequantity of safranal isolated by MSDE ranged between 288.1 and 687.9 mg/100 g of saffron, whereasin the case of USE safranal and HTCC ranged between 40.7 and 647.7 mg/100 g of saffron andbetween 41.7 and 397.7 mg/100 g of saffron, respectively. Freeze-drying was also tested as analternative drying method. Over years of storage at 4 °C the quantity of safranal remained mostlyconstant while the quantity of HTCC decreased over the same periods. Keywords: Ultrasound extraction; GC-MS; saffron; freeze-drying; quantitative analysis; safranal; HTCC
|
