Extract

Extract (noun) and extract (verb) have overlapping senses in science, industry, and everyday language. As a noun, an extract is a concentrated substance obtained by removing a portion of a mixture, typically by solvent extraction or distillation, that retains key properties of the original material. As a verb, to extract means to draw out, obtain, or derive something from another substance or source. The term derives from Latin extrahere, "to draw out."

In botanical, culinary, and pharmaceutical contexts, extracts are used to concentrate flavors, aromas, or active compounds. Vanilla extract, almond extract, and peppermint extract are common flavorings produced by soaking plant material in a solvent such as ethanol. More concentrated botanical extracts may be standardized for specific constituents. Essential oils are closely related products often produced by steam distillation; they are areas of overlap but are typically categorized separately from standard edible extracts.

Methods of extraction include solvent extraction, infusion, maceration, percolation, Soxhlet extraction, and, in modern settings, supercritical CO2 extraction. The solvent, temperature, time, and plant material influence yield and composition. Distinction from distillation lies in solubility: extracts are typically dissolved in a liquid solvent, while essential oils are volatile oils obtained by distillation.

Applications span food manufacturing, medicine, and cosmetics, where extracts provide flavor, fragrance, or therapeutic activity. In laboratory practice, extracts are prepared to isolate compounds for analysis or further processing. In data processing and computing, extraction refers to retrieving relevant information from unstructured sources as part of ETL and text mining workflows.