Sciencemadness Discussion Board

carvone turned red

Hellafunt - 1-1-2015 at 13:42

The title says it all. About a month ago, I steamed distilled some carvone from caraway seeds. I yielded a very small amount, and I had put it in a small glass vial. Today I dug it out to smell it, and it had turned red! Anybody? Thank you

forgottenpassword - 1-1-2015 at 15:02

How did you purify the carvone from the rest of the steam distillate of caraway seeds? Chromatography?

[Edited on 1-1-2015 by forgottenpassword]

Mailinmypocket - 1-1-2015 at 15:57

When I steam extracted caraway seeds this straw colored oil was the product. Now, a year later it has become viscous but still smells the same. No color change though. Maybe the lid of your vial leached something into it?


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Hellafunt - 1-1-2015 at 16:56

i had the distillate and i added small amounts of chloroform ( i didnt have DCM and based on my reading figured that it was my best option) and shook, then allowed to separate in a separation funnel. i did this three times, pooled all the chloroform, then distilled the chlorofom off and was left with what i assume was carvone and a bunch of other mystery caraway substances. carvone's b.p. is 231C, so this seemed like the best option to me. i am a total beginner.