CAMPHOR 525 



camphoric acid by oxidation. With vanillin-hydrochloric acid it gives 

 a reddish blue or bluish green colour which appears to be due to 

 impurities derived from the plant during the distillation. 



Uses . Camphor is used externally as a mild rubefacient, internally 

 as a carminative and antiseptic. 



Varieties. Synthetic camphor is obtained from pinene by con- 

 verting it into pinene hydrochloride from which isobornyl acetate 

 and isoborneol are successively prepared ; isoborneol is then converted 

 by reduction into camphor. Synthetic camphor may be distinguished 

 from natural camphor by its optical inactivity (natural camphor is 

 dextrorotatory) and by its not yielding the colour reaction with 

 vanillin-hydrochloric acid. It can be resolved into dextro- and 

 Isevo-camphor. 



Borneo camphor is obtained from Dryobalanops aromatica, Gaertner 

 (N.O. Dipterocarpece) , Borneo. The camphor is secreted normally 

 in ducts in the pith, but similar ducts are probably formed patho- 

 logically in the young wood. Cavities filled with the camphor occur 

 in the pith and from these the camphor is scraped out. It consists 

 almost entirely of dextro-borneol. It is employed in China and 

 Japan for embalming and also for various religious ceremonies. 



Ngai camphor is obtained from Blumea balsamifera, de Candolle 

 (N.O. Compositce), Burma, by distillation of the leaves. It consists 

 of laevo-borneol and is used in China as a medicine and for religious 

 ceremonies. 



