Avaliação da composição volátil de manjericão roxo (Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens) submetido à destilação por arraste de vapor

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is used in cooking and industry for its essential oil (EO). The purple variety (O. basilicum var. purpurascens) stands out for the presence of anthocyanidins, compounds with recognized antioxidant activity and characteristic colors. EOs are usually obtained by distillation, a process in which a portion of the volatile compounds remains dissolved or emulsified in the distillation water, resulting in the hydrosol. Given the scarcity of studies on the volatile fraction of purple basil hydrosol, this work aimed to evaluate its chemical composition after steam distillation. The distillation did not yield the EO, only the hydrosol, with a yield of volatile compounds of 0.173 g/L. Analysis of the volatile fraction by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry identified eight compounds, with linalool predominating (62.71%). The absence of EO suggests that anatomical and structural variations among cultivars may influence its development, requiring further studies for confirmation.