Innovative Extraction of Caraway (Carum carvi) Essential Oil: Comparing Hydrodistillation and Microwave-Assisted...

This research focused on obtaining high-quality caraway essential oil (CEO) through hydrodistillation (HD) at 205 and 410 W, and novel microwave-assisted HD (MWHD) techniques at 180, 360, 600, and 800 W. Distillation kinetic, with four models, were examined to compare the quality of HD and MWHD CEO. Characterization of the CEOs included in vitro antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, and chemical profiling. Models I and IV provided the best fit for the experimental results. The CEO obtained by HD at 410 W exhibited the highest activity in neutralizing 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate radicals (0.99 ± 0.58 µM TE/g), while the CEO from MWHD at 800 W demonstrated the highest activity against 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt radicals (2.30 ± 1.14 µM TE/g). Considering the disc diffusion method, CEOs showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against Proteus hauseri. Carvone was the dominant compound (503.82 mg/g) in MWHD CEO at 800 W. Energy consumption and CO₂ emission were also measured to provide better insight into the environmental impacts. The MWHD at 800 W proved to be an efficient method for producing valuable CEO with potential applications in numerous fields.