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About CO2 Extracts
CO2 Extracts, Supercritical CO2 Extracts
and CO2 Essential Oils
CO2 extracts, also known as supercritical extracts or supercritical
fluid CO 2 extracts, are extremely pure plant extracts produced from
a relatively new and highly efficient extraction process. CO2 extraction
produces superior herbal extracts for use in herbal medicine as well
as aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Essential oils have traditionally
been derived using either steam or hydro distillation, or extracted
using chemical solvents such as hexane, heptane or ethanol. The supercritical
CO2 extract and its process have many benefits over the traditional
distillation processes, which should be taken into consideration when
choosing an essential oil. Below you will find more information regarding
the supercritical process and CO2 essential oils. Please click here
to view the CO2 extracts that we sell.
The CO2 extraction process consists of pumping pressurized carbon dioxide
into a chamber filled with plant matter. When carbon dioxide is subjected
to pressure it becomes "supercritical" and has liquid properties
while remaining in a gaseous state. Because of the liquid properties
of the gas, the CO2 functions as a solvent, pulling the oils and other
substances such as pigment and resin from the plant matter. Thus, the
difference between CO2, or supercritical, extraction and traditional
distillation is that CO2 is used as a solvent instead of heated water
or steam. The temperature involved in the supercritical extraction process
is around 95 to 100 degrees F as opposed to 140 to 212 degrees F in
steam distillation.
Steam distillation is typically considered the best way to obtain essential
oils for use in aromatherapy. However, this method produces varying
oil qualities dependent upon the temperature, pressure and time used
for distillation. The CO2 extraction process, or supercritical extraction
process, will often times yield a superior essential oil by producing
a completely pure essential oil (unlike an absolute or solvent extracted
essential oil, which sometimes has a small amount of solvent remaining
in the final oil), and by producing an essential oil that has not been
altered by high heat (as steam distillation will do).
An important point regarding steam distillation of essential oils is
that the temperature involved in the process changes the molecular composition
of the plant matter. In general, the best essential oils are obtained
using lower temperatures. However, in practice most essential oils are
obtained by distillation with very high temperatures, due to economics:
if one distills essential oils using low heat, then more time, more
water and more energy is required.
The use of high temperatures in the distillation process changes the
molecular composition of the essential oil. An excellent case in point
is that of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita). In the distillation
of German chamomile, the matricarin (the chemical in the plant that
functions as an excellent anti-inflammatory) changes to chamazulene
under high temperatures. Thus, after the traditional distillation process
of German Chamomile, some of the anti-inflammatory properties of the
plant have been lost. The blue color of German chamomile oil is evidence
of this chemical change.
There are many positive aspects of the supercritical CO2 extraction
process and the resultant supercritical CO2 essential oils. The CO2
supercritical extraction process eliminates the need for potentially
harmful solvents like hexane, avoiding unnecessary environmental pollution
and potential human bodily harm. Another very important consideration
is that the supercritical CO2 extraction process avoids heat degradation
to the plant matter, producing an essential oil that is a more authentic
version of the original plant matter. Many medicinal properties of the
plant are thus kept intact in the oil, exemplified by the aforementioned
German chamomile extract. Another positive aspect to the CO2 distillation
process is the aroma of the essential oil. The CO2 supercritical extract
offers a more genuine aroma of the actual herb, spice or plant. The
aroma of the CO2 extracts of ginger, cardamom and other spices are more
active, spirited and warm in nature than the rather flat and lifeless
aroma of the same plants that have been steam distilled.
Finally, many people are concerned with the higher unit for unit price
of the CO2 extracted essential oil. Although the supercritical extracts
often cost more initially, they are typically more concentrated and
thus less of these oils is needed in the production of formulas. Because
you can generally use less of the CO2 essential oil than the hydro or
steam distilled oil, the higher price is sometimes offset.
At Eden Botanicals, we recognize and respect the many considerations
involved in the selection of essential oils. While we consider many
of the CO2 extracts to be superior to steamed distilled essential oils,
we do not believe this is always the case. For instance we love the
spice oils derived using CO2 technology, and believe that they are hands-down
superior to steam distilled spice oils. This is not necessarily the
case with all essential oils however. If you compare patchouli essential
oils derived from CO2 and steam distillation, you will find quite different
oils, with very different aroma profiles. In these cases, some people
will prefer the more earthy, woody patchouli derived from steam distillation
to the fresher, greener aroma of the patchouli CO2 extract. For patchouli
it comes down to personal preference, and we do not feel one is better
than the other.In order to offer you the greatest variety and the best
quality of essential oils, we carry many of the CO2 supercritical extracts
in addition to the traditional essential oils. In some cases, we only
offer the CO2 extract due to its far superior quality.
Eden Botanicals'
CO2 Extracts
Eden Botanicals carries a full range of CO2 extracts that can be found on our Pure Essential Oil pages. We carry the common (such as Black Pepper CO2, Cardamom CO2 and Vanilla CO2 extracts) to the unusual (such as Agarwood CO2, Clementine CO2 and Fenugreek CO2 extracts). Enjoy browsing!
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