Effect of sterilization of sweet fennel fruits (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Mill.) on essential oil yield and composition

Abstract

The sweet fennel fruits (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Mill.) are processed to obtain their essential oil. It is part of the composition of various products from the food industry, pharmacy, medicine and cosmetics. The scope is to investigate the influence of the fruits sterilization with superheated water steam on the yield and composition of the essential oil, before the fruits processing by water distillation. The main components in the essential oil, obtained from fruits before sterilization, are trans-anethole (67.10%), fenchone (21.58%), methyl chavicol (3.14%), and α-pinene (2.31%). The essential oil, obtained from fruits after sterilization, has the same main components in its composition but their amount is different: trans-anethole (71.38%), fenchone (16.75%), methyl chavicol (2.89%), and α-pinene (2.26%).