A strategy of extracting and purifying the α-terpineol obtained from the Penicillium digitatum biotransformation of limonene

α-Terpineol, an abundant oxygenated monoterpene compound, shows a varied range of beneficial bioactivities. This study focused on the efficient extraction and purification of α-terpineol from the biotransformation of limonene using Penicillium digitatum DSM 62840 mutant (PdTP1-overexpressed OE2 strain). The α-terpineol was primarily distributed in the supernatant, with minimal association with the biomass. And the optimal extraction was achieved using ethyl acetate as the extractant, which can directly obtain the highest recovery of α-terpineol without sequential extractions. The equilibrium of mass transfer was quickly reached (≤20 s in vortex). Additionally, the purification method of α-terpineol using column chromatography was described, further improving the purity of product to 96.86% in gas chromatography. Structural identification of purified α-terpineol was confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. This simplified and efficient strategy for the extraction and purification of α-terpineol not only provides a solid theoretical basis for the final step in the relevant study of microbial synthesis of α-terpineol but also is of great significance for its industrial application.