Study on chemical components of volatile oil prepared from Houttuynia cordata Thunb by different methods

Objective:To provide a theoretical basis for selection of extraction methods,the chemical components of volatile oil from Houttuynia cordata Thunb prepared by solvent extraction, steam distillation and supercritical CO2 were analyzed. Methods: The chemical components of volatile oil were identif ied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) analysis. Results: 19 same components consisted of erpenes, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, lower fatty acids and esters were identifed in volatile oil prepared by three methods. Besides the same components,the components in oil prepared by supercritical CO2 also contained senior fatty acids, senior aliphatic hydrocarbons, sterols and other lipophilic components of high molecular weight. Particularly, the oil extracted by SC-CO2 contained decanoyl acetaldehyde(Houttuyninum), a physiologically active substance. Conclusion: The oil prepared by supercritical CO2 containing the mixture of decanoyl acetaldehyde and lipid compounds of high molecular weight can maintain stability, and it is a suitable pharmaceutical intermediate for the development of oral formulations.