ALCOHOLS 69 



ALCOHOLS. 



OCCURRENCE OF ALCOHOLS IN PLANTS. 



Methyl Alcohol has been found to occur in the aqueous 

 distillates and in the essential oils of a very large number of 

 different plants, amongst which might be mentioned Juniperus 

 Sabma, Zea Mais, Lolium peremie, Iris germanica, Euonymus 

 europaea, Thea sinensis, Eugenia caryophyllata, Carum carvi, 

 Anthriscus cerefolium, etc. 



Ethyl Alcohol is not quite so widely distributed as methyl 

 alcohol, but occurs in distillates from Cananga odorata (Ylang 

 Ylang), Pyrus Malus, Mespilus germanica. Eucalyptus, Anthris- 

 cus cerefolium, Pastinaca sativa, Vacci?iium Myrtillus, Betula 

 alba, etc. 



Mention also should be made of the occurrence of this 

 alcohol, together with lactic acid and acetone * in some cases, 

 in the higher plants especially during anaerobic respiration. 

 Stoklasa.t for instance, found that this substance together 

 with acetic and formic acids, was produced during anaerobic 

 respiration of potatoes and seeds. Indeed, many consider 

 that alcoholic fermentation is the first expression of respiration, 

 and whether alcohol is formed or not depends upon the 

 conditions ; thus under normal conditions in the presence of 

 oxygen the first products are oxidized before the alcohol stage 

 in the process is reached, or the alcohol may be used up in 

 anabolic processes as soon as it is formed, or it may be oxidized 

 to water and carbon dioxide — the normal end products of 

 aerobic respiration. f 



Amyl Alcohol has been identified in the essential oils of 

 geranium, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, and chamomile. 



Several unsaturated alcohols, such as citronellol CmHaoO, 

 geraniol, and linalool, both of the formula CxoHjsO, occur in 

 essential oils, such as rose oil and oil of bergamot, while 



* Palladin and Kostvtschevv : " Ber. deut. bot. Gesells.." 1906, 24, 273. 



t Stoklasa : id., 1904, 22, 358 ; " Centr. f. Bakter. u. Parasit.," 1905, 

 II., 31, 86. Godlewski and Polzeniusz : " Bull. Acad. Sci., Cracow," 1901, 

 227 ; Stoklasa, Jelinek, and Vitek : " Beitr. z. chem. Phys. u. Path.," 



1903, 3. 460. 



{ See Kostytschew : " Ber. deut. bot. Gesells.," 1908, 26, 565. 



