XIII 



GINGER 419 



chewing it, and in the same way for relaxed uvula and 

 tonsils. It produces a flow of saliva when chewed. 

 Powdered ginger taken in boiling milk has had a great 

 reputation for gout. Externally it is used as a 

 rubefacient for headache or toothache in the form of a 

 ginger plaster, made by spreading the powdered ginger 

 with warm water on a piece of cloth. 



Oil of Ginger. This is often extracted from the 

 rhizomes to serve as a basis for tinctures or essences of 

 ginger. The alcoholic extract known as " Gingerine " 

 does not contain all the aromatic principles, as most of 

 the essential oil is carried over in the recovered alcohol. 

 T. H. W. Idris (American Journal of Pharmacy, 

 Jamaica Bulletin, 1898, p. 207) writes that acetone 

 proved to be the most suitable solvent, boiling as it does 

 at 56 C. and being miscible with water in all proportions. 

 The apparatus used was a modification of a Soxhlet on a 

 manufacturing scale. The acetone extracts the whole of 

 the aromatic and pungent properties, and does not 

 appear to lose any of its volatile oil in the process of 

 recovery, as happens so markedly in the case of the 

 use of alcohol. The acetone extract is a dark brown 

 substance of a treacly consistence, intensely pungent and 

 possessing a full ginger aroma, the quality of which 

 depends on the variety of ginger used. It is readily 

 soluble in alcohol, forming a deep brown liquid. The 

 difference in the aromas of the various kinds of ginger, 

 noticeable enough when examining the rhizomes, is more 

 apparent when dealing with the oils themselves. The 

 various tinctures and essences of ginger may be con- 

 veniently and readily prepared from this extract without 

 the usual loss of alcohol, and syrup may be flavoured 

 with it without the use of any spirit. 



Kilmer describes some experiments in extracting the 

 oil with ether and with alcohol (Land of Ginger), and 

 records that the finer grades when carefully dried 

 contained a higher percentage of volatile oil. Ginger 

 dried without removing the peel gave somewhat higher 

 results than the peeled ginger, and the loss of the oils 



