SYNTHETIC ORGANIC PRODUCTS 479 



hand amyl valerate, which is sold as apple essence, is not contained 

 in the fruit, though it smells like it. Most perfumery nowadays, 

 including the most expensive, consists of mixtures of natural and 

 synthetic products. 



Preparation of Typical Perfumes. Take 0.1 gram of 

 beta-naphthol Ci H 7 .OH and 10 drops of methyl alcohol in a 

 test-tube, add 2 drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, and warm 

 gently for a few minutes. The methyl ether of beta-naphthol, 

 which is formed, has a most powerful odor, reminiscent of acacia 

 blossoms. 



Repeat the experiment with ethyl alcohol instead of methyl 

 alcohol. The ethyl ether of beta-naphthol is produced; its odor 

 recalls the perfume of orange flowers. 



Drugs. In the -same way, many drugs formerly obtained from 

 natural sources are now built up in the laboratory, and many new 

 compounds have been made which possess as valuable medicinal 

 properties as any found in nature. The first stage in this work 

 consisted in determining the constitution of the active ingredients 

 of plant products. Quinine was isolated from cinchona bark, 

 morphine from the seed capsules of the opium poppy, strychnine 

 from the seeds of nux vomica. These and other substances of 

 similar character are now classed together as alkaloids, complex 

 nitrogeneous substances possessing basic properties. The struc- 

 ture of many of the alkaloids is now completely worked out. 

 It is not necessary, however, to construct the entire complicated 

 molecule if the same results can be secured with simpler substances, 

 and this has been demonstrated already in many instances. 



Aspirin is an ester of salicylic acid C 6 H 4 .OH.COOH; acetan- 

 ilide is a derivative of aniline C 6 H 5 .NH 2 . Acetophenone 

 (hypnone), C 6 H 5 .CO.CH 3 , is used as a hypnotic. Novocaine, pre- 

 pared from diethylaniline, has practically replaced the natural 

 alkaloid cocaine in dentistry. Saccharin is obtained from toluene; 



