Compositions for extracting flavor and fragrance compounds and solubilizing essential oils
View Patent ↗Provided are poly(trimethylene ether)glycol homopolymers and copolymers suitable for use as solubilizers for essential oils. The polymers can be used to provide compositions having a variety of uses in applications such as cosmetics, personal care products, and industrial cleaning products.
1. A method for extracting essential oil from a plant comprising:
a) contacting plant material with a composition comprising one or more esters of a poly(trimethylene ether) glycol homopolymer or copolymer, wherein the one or more esters of the homopolymer or copolymer have has a number average molecular weight within the range of about 134 to about 2000, to form an extract; and
b) isolating the extract from the plant material by filtration.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the molecular weight of the one or more esters of the poly(trimethylene ether) glycol homopolymer or copolymer is less than 1000.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more esters of the poly(trimethylene ether) glycol homopolymer or copolymer is a monoester, diester or mixture thereof.