NOTES ON ESSENTIAL OILS OF DAPHNANDRA AROMATICA. 61 
Notes on the Essential Oils of Daph- 
nandra aromatica. 
By T. G. H. Jonss, B.Se., A.I.C., and FRANK SMITH, 
B.Se., F.1.C. 
(Read before the Royal Society of Queensland, 27th June, 
1923.) 
Daphnandra aromatica (N.O. Monimiacer) is dis- 
tinguished from other of the genus by its aromatic bark 
and slightly fragrant leaves. 
Parcels of the leaves and bark, collected for us by 
eourtesy of Mr. E. H. F. Swain, Director of Forests, were 
submitted to distillation in high-pressure steam, and the 
small amounts of oil collected have permitted of deter- 
mination of their general character. 
OIL OF THE BARK. 
One hundred and forty-five pounds of the dry bark 
yielded 200 ec. (-3 per cent.) of a dark amber oil, heavier 
than water, and possessing the characteristic odour of the 
bark, predominantly that of sassafras. 
15 
The following constants were recorded :—a@ 42 1:07 
[a]p—19, [M]p 1525. 
Acid, ester, and acetyl values, nil. 
Nothing was extracted from the oil by alkali bisul- 
phites, and a trace only of phenolic body by caustic alkali. 
When placed in a freezing mixture the oil became 
almost completely solid. 
Fractionation of 150 ec. of 130 mm. pressure gave 4 ce. 
at 70-80° C., 4 ee. at 80-128° C., and 140 ee. at 129-130° C. 
The last fraction, constituting the bulk of the oil, 
possessed the characteristic properties of almost pure safrol, 
[7]; 10530, a12 1-096, [a], —"5; and was confirmed as 
such by preparation of piperonylie acid, its oxidation 
product. 
Safrol, which constitutes about 95 per cent. of the bark 
oil of D. aromatica, is also, among the Monimiacee, the prin- 
cipal constituent of laurel leaf oil, and has been identified 
‘ Gildemeister and Hoffmann, ‘‘'The Volatile Oils.’’ 
