2.2.1. Hydrodistillation (HD)
The cardamom seeds (40 g) were separated from the husk,ground into a fine powder by a hammer mill and sieved througha 0.5 mm screen, immersed in 1 L water, placed in a 2 L round bot-tom flask. Distillation was carried out using a lighter than waterClevenger type apparatus for collecting the oil according to theEuropean Pharmacopoeia (Conseil de l’ Europe, 1996), until nomore essential oil was obtained (technique 1). From the distillate,the oily layer was separated, dried over anhydrous sodium sulphateand stored in a dark glass bottle at 4◦C till analysis. Hydrodistil-lations were performed in triplicates and the mean values of theextraction yields were reported.