Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of 2‐acetyl‐1‐pyrroline and volatile components from pandan leaves

The avour of pandan ( Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) leaves was extracted by supercritical uid with CO 2 (SC‐CO 2 ) under different conditions of pressure, temperature and contact time to determine the yield of 2‐acetyl‐1‐pyrroline (ACPY) and various other components; 14 volatile compounds on the gas chromatogram were identied, and the predominant constituents were ACPY and 3‐methyl‐2(5 H )‐furanone. The interaction of different conditions signicantly inuenced the yield of ACPY and various volatile compounds. There is a potential for high yield of ACPY by SC‐CO 2 at 200 bar, 500 °C and 20 min. The SDE–ether extract was found to have a very small amount of ACPY and an undesirable odour, as compared to the dark green ethanol extract, which contains a relatively larger quantity of ACPY and even more 3‐methyl‐2(5 H )‐furanone. Although at least 34 new components were uncovered from SC‐CO 2 , SDE, and ethanol extraction, both ACPY and 3‐methyl‐2(5 H )‐furanone were the components tentatively obtained by all three methods. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.