Volatile oil in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the important material bases for TCM to exert pharmacological effects, and its extraction technology directly determines the efficacy, safety and quality stability of the product. However, traditional extraction methods generally have problems such as low extraction efficiency, susceptible degradation of heat-sensitive constituents, and organic solvent residues, which seriously affect the quality and large-scale application of volatile oils. Therefore, the development of green and efficient new extraction technologies has become a key direction to promote technological progress in this field. This paper systematically summarizes the application status and inherent limitations of conventional extraction technologies such as solvent extraction and steam distillation, and discusses the research strategies to improve the efficiency of traditional methods through process parameter optimization, equipment structure improvement, and combination of ultrasonic, microwave and other physics auxiliary technologies. At the same time, the latest technical progress and research overview of emerging technologies such as supercritical fluid extraction, subcritical extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ionic liquid extraction and pulsed electric field-assisted extraction are summarized. Finally, the future development trends of multi-technology collaboration, green solvent substitution and intelligent regulation system construction are prospected, providing references for the innovation and industrial application of TCM volatile oil extraction technologies.

volatile oil  /  extraction technology  /  subcritical extraction  /  ionic liquid extraction  /  microwave-assisted extraction