NEW PHILIPPINE ESSENTIAL OILS. 335 



THE CONSTITUEXTS OF THE OIL OF MICHELIA CHAMPACA L. 



Concerning the constituents of champaca oil Bacon * recently has 

 shown that 3 per cent of the oil consists of iso-eugenol. Schimmel and 

 Company * report benzoic acid as occurring in champaca oil whereas 

 Bacon did not find this substance in the sample examined by him. The 

 former also state that the odor of the oil is somewhat suggestive of eassie 

 flowers. I have found benzoic acid in the oil prepared by me, but only 

 in small amounts, probably not exceeding one-half of one per cent. The 

 odor, in my opinion, is somewhat suggestive of eassie flowers, particularly 

 after some of the more volatile constituents are lost by evaporation. 

 However, Schimmel and Company state that about 60 per cent of the 

 sample of champaca oil examined by them in 190T ^ consisted of lina- 

 lool, which certainly is not true of the oil prepared here. 



The presence of aldehydes or ketones in champaca oil, together with 

 the energetic oxidase which I have shown is present, is particularly in- 

 teresting in view of the theories regarding the formation of essential oils 

 and the changes undergone by them during the development of the plant. 

 Thus, the crystalline substance which separates from th* essence concrete 

 is a ketone, and I have shown that benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, and 

 benzoic acid are present in the oil. Inasmuch as the aldehydes constitute 

 6 per cent of the oil, it is quite probahle that the small amount of benzoic 

 acid found is derived directly from benzaldehyde by oxidation. The 

 tendency of benzyl alcohol to foim benzaldehyde by oxidation in the air 

 is well known and these two substances are often associated in essential 

 oils. The oxidation of benzyl alcohol or any similar compound un- 

 doubtedly would be much accelerated by an oxida^^e such as occurs in 

 champaca. 



Wlien a few drops of champaca oil are shaken up with a little hot 

 water, a very marked camphor-like odor may be noticed. This odor is 

 due to cineol which is one of the constituents which gives to champaca 

 oil its character. 



Heat causes the polymerization of a large part of champaca oil to a 

 resin. This is particularly noticeable when the oil is saponified with 

 alcoholic caustic potash. The previous removal of aldehydes reduces the 

 tendency to fonn resins. Although the essence concrete of eassie flowers 

 may be distilled mth steam, champaca oil when so treated yields a dis- 

 tillate having an odor entirely different from the original material. A 

 large part, of the oil is converted into resin. 



Experimental. — When it is attempted to distil champaca oil in vacuo, most 

 of the oil polymerizes to a resin. 



'This Journal, Sec. A (1910), 5, 262. 

 * Semiannual Rep. (1897), 1, 11. 

 'Ibid. (1907), 2, 33. 



