Study on Oleuropein Extraction from Olive Tree (Olea europaea) Leaves by means of SFE: Comparison of Water and Ethanol as Co-Solvent

The present study focuses on developing methods for olive leaf extraction and deals with obtaining extract, rich in oleuropein, which is the most abundant phenolic compound in olive leaves. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was applied to the dried and ground olive leaves by using CO₂ as supercritical (SC) fluid in the presence of water and ethanol as co-solvent. The influences of operating parameters by means of co-solvent content (0-1 mL/min), temperature (50 and 100°C) and pressure (100-300 bar) on both extract and oleuropein yields were investigated. Quantitative analysis was performed by using a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) technique. The experimental results obtained by using SC-CO₂ alone were not satisfactory, and it was seen that addition of a polar modifier is necessary in order to improve yield and selectivity of the process. It was observed that CO₂ modified by water and ethanol showed nearly the same extract performance, where CO₂ modified by water is better for high oleuropein yield.