Introduction
Herbanol produces natural antioxidants from herbal essential oils. The team completed the full process three times during the project, including essential oil extraction and identification of the components. Work continues on new analysis methods for other plants.
Plant selection and extraction
This week the team chose dried Zataria multiflora, a type of thyme in the mint family with edible and medicinal uses. It grows in southern Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The team added 200 grams of dried thyme leaves and distilled water to a 1-liter round-bottom flask. A Clevenger apparatus condensed the vapor and separated the essential oil. Each distillation took three hours. The team collected the oil in a sealed plastic container, removed residual water with anhydrous sodium sulfate powder, and stored the oil at −25 °C.
The report photos show dried thyme leaves and stems, the glass Clevenger apparatus set up over the flask in the laboratory, and pale yellow essential oil in a small vial.
Flaxseed oil preparation
The team chose flaxseed oil because it is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The team cold-pressed fresh flaxseed, transferred the oil into a dark plastic container, and refrigerated it.
The report photos show whole flaxseeds, flaxseeds being fed into the extraction funnel by hand, and fresh oil running from the press into a collection tray.
Oil stability test
Testing takes at least 25 days after adding the essential oil to the flaxseed oil. The team placed 10 samples in dark glass tubes and kept them in an oven at 40 °C for 20 days. The experiment used 50 ppm and 500 ppm concentrations of essential oil. It also included a control and a synthetic antioxidant for comparison.
Maryam Sanjari, head of the Herbanol project.