The Influence Of Isolation Conditions On The Composition Of Essential Oils Containing Linalool And Linalyl Acetate

The essential oils of lavender and clary sage isolated by different techniques such as hydrodistillation or extraction with an organic solvent mixture, show significant differences. Systematic investigations on the stability of the major oil components, linalool and linalyl acetate, in a model system with buffered distillation water of different pH values enabled us to correlate the artifacts found in the hydrodistill ate with linalyl acetate. Whereas linalool did not decompose in the pH range 5.0–8.0, an allylic rearrangement of linalyl acetate could not be prevented even at pH 7.0.