— II — 



We are specially indebted to Dr. H. Hildebrandt, Privatdocent 

 at the University of Halle o/S., for kindly allowing us to reproduce 

 verbatim, under Pharmacologico -physiological Notes, the part which will 

 interest our readers chiefly, of his work entitled "Neuere Arznei- 

 mittel. Auf Grund von Studien liber Beziehungen zwischen 

 chemischer Konstitution und pharmakologischer Wirkung 

 unter Beriicksichtigung der synthetisch dargestellten Arznei- 

 mittel" (Modern pharmaceutical remedies. On the strength of studies 

 on the relations between the chemical constitution and the pharma- 

 cological action, with due regard to the synthetically produced pharma- 

 ceutical remedies), — a work which will be published shortly by the 

 Akademische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig. 



Commercial notes and scientific information 

 on essential oils. 



Almond Oil, bitter. This article naturally suffers much from 

 the scarcity of the raw material, the apricot kernels (see under Almond 

 oil, pressed from apricot kernels), and as a consequence we were not 

 always able to cover the requirements. We avail ourselves of this 

 opportunity to call again attention to the fact that this oil, adulterated 

 in a very clever manner, is frequently offered at low prices, and that 

 it must therefore be called an article of confidence in the true sense 

 of the words. We consider it necessary to make this statement, as 

 the prices of our genuine unadulterated oil will probably be raised 

 again shortly. 



G. Velardi 1 ) has attempted to determine in how far a previous 

 increase in the temperature affects the formation of the poison in 

 bitter almonds, and what changes amygdalin experiences by the action 

 of increased temperature. When heated to 103 , the almonds were 

 still capable of splitting off hydrocyanic acid. If the temperature 

 was raised to 150 , hydrocyanic acid was only then still developed, 

 if the bitter almonds were mixed with a paste of sweet almonds con- 

 taining emulsin. Therefore, while emulsin becomes inefficious about 

 103 , amygdalin is not yet attacked at that temperature. When heated 

 to above 150 , amygdalin yielded in the presence of emulsin a con- 

 stantly decreasing quantity of hydrocyanic acid. At 166 the hydro- 

 cyanic acid reaction only occurred after 12 hours, and towards 170 

 all the amygdalin was apparently changed. Pure amygdalin, when 



*) Boll. chim. farm.; accord, to Journ. de la Parfumerie et Savonnerie Fran- 

 caises 20 (1907), 66. 



