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Isolation of essential oil from dried and ground leaves of Laurus nobilis L. from Algeria and Tunisia were obtained with two different methods: by means of classical hydrodistillation (HD) and by using carbon dioxide in the supercritical state (SFE). The effect of extraction pressure on the yield and composition of the L. nobilis volatile oil is examined. The best extraction conditions were as follows: pressure, 9.0 MPa; temperature, 323.15 K; 4 h of extraction and carbon dioxide flow, Φ = 1.2 kg h⁻¹. Waxes were entrapped in the first separator set at 9.0 MPa and 263.15 K. The oil was recovered in the second separator working at 2.0 bar and 288.15 K. GC/MS analysis of the leaves' volatile oil revealed that it mainly consisted of: 1,8-cineole, linalool, α-terpinyl acetate, methyl eugenol and sabinene. The comparison with the hydrodistilled oil did not reveal any big difference. The collection of samples at different extraction …