This work aimed to study the influence of four thin layer drying temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 ºC) and two air velocities (0.9 and 1.9 m/s) in the content of linalol of the Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). It was used a tray dryer specially built for this experiment in the drying laboratory of the UESB at the "Campus de Itapetinga-Ba". There were made four repetitions with 100 g of fresh leaves in each one of the five trays in the dry chamber In the extraction of the essential oil, a vapor hauling system was used and the oil analysis was made in a gas chromatographer that was connected to a mass spectrometer (CG-MS). The greatest extracted profits of basil's essential oil were obtained in the drying process with 40 ºC of air temperature and 1.9 m/s of air velocity. The greatest profit of linalol was obtained with the air drying temperature in the range of 50-60 ºC and 1.9 m/s of air velocity (2.23 and 2.47 ppm, respectively). It was estimated, by regression analysis, that the air drying temperature of 54.4 ºC and the air flow of 1.9 m/s would provide the greatest profit of linalol. It was concluded that the chemical composition of the basil was affected by both drying air temperature and velocity.
Drying; medicinal plants; oil yelds
