CHAPTER IV 



WAXES, HIGHER ALCOHOLS INCLUDING 



STEROLS, TRITERPENES, GLYCERYL 



ETHERS, COLORED FATS, AND 



HYDROCARBONS 



1, Waxes 



The term, wax, originates from the Anglo-Saxon word, weax, which was 

 first apphed to the natural material in the honeycomb of the bee. The 

 material in the plant kingdom having similar properties was first called 

 v)eax or wachs, and later was referred to as wax. ^ At the present time, true 

 waxes are considered to be a group of simple lipids, usually solid at ordinary 

 temperatures, in which a simple fatty acid is combined in ester linkage with 

 a monatomic alcohol of high molecular weight. However, in the broader 

 sense of the term, the waxes include not only the simple esters but also cer- 

 tain hydrocarbons, acids, and alcohols which have physical properties 

 similar to those of the naturally occurring waxes. Certain synthetic com- 

 pounds which are used as wax substitutes are frequently included in this 

 category. 



Waxes are widely distributed in nature in both the vegetable and the 

 animal kingdoms. Because of their great resistance to decomposition and 

 their insolubility in water and most solvents, they are frequentl}^ found as 

 protective coverings, not only in the case of plants but also of animals. 

 Thus they may serve as a protective covering for the leaves, stems, and 

 fruit of plants. Carnauba wax occurs as a leaf secretion in the carnauba 

 palm (Copernicia cerifera). This wax protects the plant from excessive 

 water loss, since it is a species which is indigenous to the arid regions of 

 Brazil. The so-called candelilla wax apparently has a somewhat similar 

 function in the candelilla plant (Pedilanthus pavonis), also called wax 

 slipper flower, which grows in Mexico; this latter wax is obtained not only 

 from the leaves but also from the stems of this shrub. Bayberries, ob- 

 tained from the bay berry plant {Myrica cerifera) which grows on the sand 

 dunes along the Atlantic coast of the United States, also yields a wax. 

 The fruit of trees raised in moist areas of the country may likewise be coated 



' A. H. Warth, The Chemistry and Technology of Waxes, Reinhold, New York, 1947. 



305 



