Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Herb solvent

khourygeo78 - 5-1-2016 at 03:45

Hello,

Anyone knows about the best possible ways to dissolve&extract as much of a particular herb as possible?
In other words, what is the solvent that can extract/dissolve the biggest weight from herbs into a solution?
Does electrolysis work in extracting/dissolving a herb? How much?

I have tried pretty much every non corrosive substance, and found out that an alkali solution of salts like Na2Co3 do the best job

Any idea?

Thanks for your time

[Edited on 5-1-2016 by khourygeo78]

Fulmen - 5-1-2016 at 04:51

Plant material will contain many compounds with different properties, the solvent solvent will depend on what you're trying to extract. If you supply the actual herb you're working with and the compounds you're trying to extract I'm sure someone will be able to help.

khourygeo78 - 5-1-2016 at 08:49

Goal is to dissolve as many compounds as possible of the herbs . I will be using a mixture of herbs like rosemary - olive leaf - oregano. That's why I did not precise 1 specie.

Are there solvents that can extract the most quantity of compounds? Does electrolysis work in such experiments? And if yes, is it good enough?

Thanks

Fulmen - 5-1-2016 at 09:47

No, electrolysis has nothing to do with this. What you need to understand is the concept of solvents and "polarity": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvent#Solvent_classification...

Simply put there are no "magic" solvents that will dissolve everything, your best bet will probably be to use several that will cover a wide range.

Praxichys - 5-1-2016 at 10:29

If your goal is to separate oils from plant material, the best choice of solvent would be nonpolar like chlorinated solvents, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butane, etc. If you wish to retain some of the more polar components like esters and ketones, choose a more polar solvent like ethyl acetate, acetone, or ethanol.

How did you determine a solution of Na2CO3 was the best? I'm curious about your experiment.

The best method is not to extract but to steam distill. It is a popular method of isolating essential oils from their vegetation, and glassware for this is available online. It is a preferable method when the oils are meant for cosmetic use or consumption since it does not involve potentially harmful solvents.

Electrolysis will not help. I don't think electrolysis does what you think it does.

khourygeo78 - 5-1-2016 at 11:35

Quote: Originally posted by Fulmen  
No, electrolysis has nothing to do with this. What you need to understand is the concept of solvents and "polarity": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvent#Solvent_classification...

Simply put there are no "magic" solvents that will dissolve everything, your best bet will probably be to use several that will cover a wide range.


Thanks for the link, I'll be reading it soon
Quote:
Praxichys
If your goal is to separate oils from plant material, the best choice of solvent would be nonpolar like chlorinated solvents, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butane, etc. If you wish to retain some of the more polar components like esters and ketones, choose a more polar solvent like ethyl acetate, acetone, or ethanol.

How did you determine a solution of Na2CO3 was the best? I'm curious about your experiment.

The best method is not to extract but to steam distill. It is a popular method of isolating essential oils from their vegetation, and glassware for this is available online. It is a preferable method when the oils are meant for cosmetic use or consumption since it does not involve potentially harmful solvents.

Electrolysis will not help. I don't think electrolysis does what you think it does.





I see that I worked with only polar solvents but no non polar ones

I have not tested many solvents. I tested water - distilled rain water - salt water - ethanol - acetone - ethyl alcohol - K2CO3 - distilled vinegar - Na2Co3 and maybe a few things I cant remember now (non corrosive for sure). Out of the solvents used, I found out K2CO3 or Na2CO3 (similar results) to be best because they used to extract much of the plant very fast. Proof is when I try distilling, more distillate condenses. I think this is because a strong Alkali (more or less) attracts all kinds of oils, whereas a salt solution will perform a weaker extraction. You can also easily distinguish this according to color changes. Also, distilled rain water is a much more potent extractor than ordinary distilled water.

About steam distillation, I know about it. But through that method, very little oil is obtained. The quality of oil may not be as medicinal as in other ways. There are many other methods to obtain distilled oils, and they may be got in bigger quantities&better qualities. Not sure about this because I have no practical experience of it yet. I can tell you how if you're interested.

Not sure if electrolysis is the term, but I was wondering if an electric current running through the herb would help decompose it.

Detonationology - 5-1-2016 at 12:27

A soxhlet extractor is a specific piece of glassware designed to ensure maximum separation of essential oils or other organic compounds from solid plant matter. Depending of the chemical you wish to extract, an optimal solvent must be chosen accordingly. The typical rule of thumb when it comes to solubility is "like dissolves like" (i.e. polar dissolves polar, nonpolar dissolves nonpolar). IPA is a common solvent for cannabinoids, cannabinols, etc. because it is fairly nonpolar and shares a likeness as an alcohol. With this grain of sand in mind, experimentation is probably your best bet. This website offers great, consolidated information of the aromatic compounds in common herbs and spices.

[Edited on 1-5-2016 by Detonationology]

JJay - 5-1-2016 at 13:15

There are many solvents you could use; the "best" one really depends on what you are trying to do.

Acetone dissolves a wide range of polar and nonpolar compounds, but it will also dissolve chlorophyll and other substances that most people would rather not extract.