40 



[13. 



ALCOHOLS 



MONOHYDRIC OF FATTY SERIES 



13. Methyl Alcohol; Carbinol; 

 Methanol ; Wood Spirit. 



CH 3 .OH 



NATURAL SOURCES. 



Methyl alcohol is contained in the 

 steam distillate from meadow grass 

 (Lieben, Monats. 19, 333) ; in the dis- 

 tillation water from oil of cloves (Schim- 

 mel's Ber. Oct. 1896), from oil of 

 caraway (Ibid. Oct. 1899), from vetiver 

 oil from the roots of Andropogon muri- 

 catus (Ibid. April, 1900), from the oil 

 of the fruit of Heracleum giganteum 

 (Zincke and Franchimont, Ber. 4, 822 ; 

 Moslinger, Ber. 9, 999 ; Gutzeit, Ann. 

 177, 344) and H. sphondylium (Moslin- 

 ger, Ber. 9, 998; Ann. 185, 26), and 

 from oil of tea from leaves of Thea 

 chinenns (Van Romburgh, SchimmePs 

 Ber. April, 1897, and April, 1898 ; Ger- 

 ber, Mon. Sci. [4] 11, 880; Ch. Centr. 

 1898, 1, 122). 



Methyl alcohol occurs also in the 

 aqueous distillate from the unripe fruit 

 of Anthriscns cerefolium (Gutzeit, Ann. 

 177, 382), from the oil obtained by dis- 

 tilling the leaves of Indigofera galego'ides 

 (Van Romburgh, SchimmePs Ber. Oct. 

 1894; April, 1896), from oil of bay 

 (SchimmePs Ber. April, 1901), and in 

 the steam distillate from the root of 

 Acorus calamus (Schnedermann, Ann. 

 41, 374; Kurbatoff, Ber. 6, 1210; 

 Gladstone, Journ. Ch. Soc. 17, I ; 

 Geuther, Ann. 240, 109). 



It is doubtful in these cases whether 

 the alcohol exists in the free state 

 in the plant or whether it is produced 

 by the hydrolysis of esters. (For refer- 

 ences to the occurrence of free methyl 

 alcohol in juices of plants see Gutzeit, 

 Jahresber. 1379,905; Maquenne, Comp. 

 Rend. 101, 1067 ; also Lichen as above.) 



Methyl alcohol is found in the fer- 

 mented juice of fruit, such as currants, 

 plums, apples, cherries, grapes, &c. 

 (Wolff, Comp. Rend. 131, 1323). 



Esters of methyl alcohol occur very 

 frequently in volatile plant oils. Me- 

 thyl esters of fatty acids occur in the 

 fruit of Heracleum giganteum and H. 

 sphondylium ; methyl butyrate probably 

 occurs in the oils from the fruit of 

 Anthriscus cerefolium and Pastinaca 

 sativa (Gutzeit, Ann. 177, 344) ; methyl 

 esters of myristic and (possibly) oleic 

 acids occur in the oil of orris-root from 

 (?) Iris germanica (Tiemann and Kriiger, 

 Ber. 26, 2675 : Iris pallida and /. 

 florentina also furnish orris-root oil : 

 the botanical source of the oil examined 

 by Tiemann and Kriiger is not stated). 



Methyl salicylate occurs in many 

 plants, notably in oil of wintergreen 

 (as the glucoside gaultherin) from 

 Gaultheria procumbens (Cahours, Ann. 

 Chim. [3] 10, 327; Ann. 48, 60; 52, 

 327 ; Procter, Am. Journ. Pharm. 14, 

 21 1; Ann. 48, 66; Kremers, Pharm. 

 Rev. 20, 350), from the leaves of G. 

 pimctata (De Vrij, Pharm. Journ. [3] 

 2, 503 ; Kohler, Ber. 12, 246 ; Brough- 

 ton, Pharm. Journ. [3] 2, 281 : the 

 latter refers to the oil from Andromeda 

 leschenaultii, probably = G. punctata), 

 and from the leaves of G. leucocarpa, 

 Java (De Vrij, loc. cit. ; Kohler, loc. 

 cit.}. 



Methyl salicylate occurs (also as the 

 glucoside gaultherin) in the bark of the 

 sweet birch, Betula lenta (Procter, Am. 

 Journ. Pharm. 15, 241 ; Schneegans 

 and Gerock, Arch. Pharm. 232, 437 ; 

 Power and Kleber, Pharm. Rund. 13, 

 228 ; Kremers, Pharm. Rev. 20, 350). 

 The oil from the flowers of the meadow- 

 sweet, Spircea ulmaria, contains me- 

 thyl salicylate (Schneegans and Gerock, 

 Jahresber. Pharm. 1892, 164) and also 

 the oil from the roots (Nietzki, Arch. 

 Pharm. 204, 429). According to Bey- 

 erinck (Centr. Bakter. 5, 425) the 

 roots, rhizomes, and lower parts of 

 Spireea ulmaria, S. jilipendula, and S. 

 palmata contain the glucoside gaultherin. 

 Methyl salicylate is present in oil of 



