84 The Philippine Journal of Science i9i6 



the formula CeHgOj. The results obtained by Brand were corro- 

 borated by Erich * and Munsche.^ 



Kiliani and Bazlen ^ studied the chemical behavior of maltol. 

 Will ® studied its behavior toward yeast. Abraham ^^ pointed 

 out that dark-colored beers may readily contain maltol and 

 that any test made for salicylic acid with ferric chloride which 

 results positively could not be considered an absolute evidence 

 of the presence of salicylic acid. He recommends the use of the 

 Jorissen reaction.^^ 



Jorissen's reaction. — To the solution to be tested add 4 to 5 drops of a 

 10 per cent solution of potassium nitrite, 4 or 5 drops of acetic acid, and 

 1 drop of a 10 per cent solution of copper sulphate and heat to boiling. 

 In the presence of salicylic acid the solution turns reddish and in the 

 presence of more than a trace it becomes blood red. 



Jorissen points out that phenol reacts in the same manner 

 with this reagent. However, phenol has no use as a preserva- 

 tive in foods, so offers few possibilities of confusion in this 

 regard. Abraham recommends the reaction as the most reli- 

 able test for salicylic acid. He found that maltol gave no color 

 with the Jorissen reagent. 



Sherman " found a body similar to maltol in bread. He be- 

 lieves this body is formed during the process of baking. A. 

 Backe ^* states that certain baked farinaceous foods, such as 

 bread and biscuits, contain small quantities of a compound which 

 show many of the reactions of salicylic acid. He believes the 

 compound is produced when starchy foods and sugars are heated 

 after being acted on by an unknown enzyme occurring together 

 with ordinary amylase in flour and malt. 



EXPERIMENTAL 



The sentitiveness of ferric chloride solution, Millon's reagent, 

 and Jorissen's reagent toward solutions of salicylic acid was 

 investigated. Ferric chloride gave a distinct violet color with 

 a solution of 0.0008 gram salicylic acid in 100 cubic centimeters of 

 water. This same solution gave a noticeable red in Jorissen's 



'Der Bierbrauer (1893), 24, 465. 

 'Wochenbl. f. Brauerei (1893), 10, 739. 

 *Ber. d. deutsch. chem. Ges. (1894), 27, 3115. 

 ' Zeitschr. f. d. ges. Brau. (1898), 21, 304. 

 "Journ. Pharm. Liege (1898), 5, 173. 



^ Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci., Lettres, et Beaux Arts Belgique (1882), III, 

 3, 259. 



"Journ. Ind. Eng. Chem. (1910), 2, 24. 

 "Compt. rend. Acad. Sci. (1910), 150, 540. 



