Surfactant-assisted hydrodistillation of Dictyopteris membranacea essential oil

In this work, surfactant-assisted hydrodistillation using the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 is reported for the first time as an extraction strategy for essential oils (EOs) from the brown alga Dictyopteris membranacea , a species well known for its rich content of bioactive metabolites, including C11 hydrocarbons (sexual pheromones), sulfur-containing compounds, and terpenoids. A range of Triton X-100 concentrations was evaluated to optimize the extraction process, and the results were compared to conventional hydrodistillation, which yielded 0.12%. The extraction process exhibited three distinct phases: an initial increase in yield with rising surfactant concentration; a peak yield of 0.22% (w/w) observed at a Triton X-100 concentration of 8%–12% (v/v); and a subsequent decline at higher concentrations. EOs obtained under varying surfactant conditions were analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID to assess the influence of Triton X-100 on their chemical profile. The results have extracting demonstrated a significant impact of surfactant concentration on the relative abundance of major compound classes, notably C11 hydrocarbons, terpenes, and sulfur-containing compounds.