Coriander spice oil: effects of fruit crushing and distillation time on yield and composition

Crushing intensity and distillation time were evaluated for their effects on the oil yield and composition of steam-distilled essential oil from fruits of Coriandrum sativum var. microcarpum L. A comparison of oils produced by laboratory- and pilot-scale stills showed that the two still types gave comparable yields and oil composition. The laboratory still was then used to compare oil yields and compositions from fruits crushed at three different intensities, at intervals during a distillation period of 60 min. Both crushing intensity and distillation time had significant (P< 0.05) effects on the yield and composition of the oil. The maximum oil yield was less from the light-crushed fruits, but the rate of oil recovery was significantly P < 0.05) higher. From the light-crushed fruits, 95% of the maximum yield was extracted in 22.5 min compared with 32 and 39 min for the standard and heavy-crushed fruits, respectively. The effect of crushing intensity on oil composition was most pronounced on the low-boiling-point a-pinene and on the higher-boiling-point geranyl acetate. Crushing had little effect on linalool content, but distillation time could be manipulated to alter the linalool content of the oil.