Compositions for extracting flavor and fragrance compounds and solubilizing essential oils
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.