196 MYJRISTICEM 



The 



of mace Is tlie volatile o3 



whicli is present to the amount of about 8 per cent., but 



occasionally as much as 1 7 per cent, may be obtained. 



{FharmacofjrajyJua.) Scbacbt found it to consist mainly of a 



terpene, C'^H^°, called maceney wticlx yieltfo a cxystallizable 



compound with bjndrocbloric acid ga&^ and appears to be related 



to, but, by Koller, considered identical with, the myristicene of 



oil of nutmeg. The oxygenated portion of the yolatile oil 



is still less known than the terpene. Hemy found red fat 



soluble, and yellow fat insoluMe, in alcohol, but the 24'0 per cent. 



residue obtained by Fliickiger {P/iarmacograpIiia} with boiHng^ 



ether and drj^ng at 100"^ 0. appeared to have consisted solely of 



resin and semi-reunified volatile oil. The same author obtained 



with alcohol 1 04 per cent, of uncrysta^Uizable sugar, and with 



hot water ]'8 per cent, of a body which turned blue, and after 



drying reddish -violet, with iodine, and is probably intermediate 



between starch and mucilage. {National D-isp,) J. Seraml^ 



{Benchfe, 25, 1803) has isolated, by fractional distillation from 



mace or rather nutmeg oil, a body possessing the peculiar odour 



of mace, which he calls mj/ri&ticin; and which has the composition 



represented hy CH^'O'. The correctness of the formula was 



controlled by the preparation of a bromine derivative dibrom- 



ccnt. 



H^^Br^ 0% which melts at 105^ 



Wamecke, powdered nutmegs 

 m boiled for two hours in a ] 



powder gives 3*77 per 



of ash. Mace yields 1'39 per cent, of ash, and after removal 



of 30-13 per cent, of fat, 274 per cent 



Toxicology. 

 old Mahomp 



nutmegs 



mcnts upon 



tan physicians liave been confirmed by Bontius, 

 obel, Schmid and Cullen, and more recent expen- 

 man and animals ag^oe in showing that they 

 have a narcotic and intoxicating action. In a case related by 

 Cullen, two drachms of powdered nutmegs produced drowsiness, 

 which gradually increased to complete stupor and insensibility- 

 The pationt continuod for several hours alternately dciiiious 

 and sleeping, but ultimately recovered. 



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