A sample of fresh plant material (300 g) was
transferred to a distillation flask containing distilled
water (2 L). The flask was attached to a Clevenger
apparatus, which was attached to the condenser.
Steam distillation continued for 2 h after initial
boiling. The organic phase was collected by liquidliquid
extraction of the hydrolate (100 mL) with
pentane (30 mL). An excess amount of anhydrous
sodium sulfate was added to remove water from the
sample, which was then filtered. The filtrate was
transferred to the rotary evaporator apparatus
(MARCONI, MA-120 series) to acquire the
essential oil (CASTRO et al., 2004).