Microwave Assisted Extraction of L-fenchone from Foeniculum vulgare Mill. in Hexane

Medicinal plants produce natural chemicals either pure or in the form of mixture of compounds which are diverse in nature. These compounds show activities which are very important for human health such as antioxidant activity, antimicrobial effect, anti-helminths activity, anti-inflammation activity, immune system activation, decrease of platelet aggregation, treatment of diabetes and modulation of hormone metabolism and anticancer property.  Demand of these natural compounds is increasing therefore it is needed to develop the more effective methods for extraction of these compounds. Foeniculum vulgare Mill. is one of the most commonly used medicinal plants used in cure of many diseases. In present study the experimental design was developed for the extraction of compounds specially “L-fenchone”, an essential part of fennel essential oils by Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE) from seeds of F. vulgare. Extraction was done in hexane from different particle sizes (40μ and 80μ) of plant material at 600W of microwaves power in 1 and 5 mint. Gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) was used for the quantification of L-fenchone. MAE was proved to be an efficient and rapid method of extraction from seeds of F. vulgare. Highest amount was extracted from 80μ, which was 183.33 mg per gram of plant sample. MAE consumed lesser energy by taking lesser time (5 minutes) for extraction. It proved to be cost effective technique as consumed lesser solvents and samples.