Blumea balsamifera, a shrub-like plant of the family of the Com- 

 posite, is a native of India, and occurs from the Himalayas down 

 to Singapore and the Malay Archipelago. According to recent reports 

 it also flourishes abundantly in Tonquin 1 ). The product of distillation 

 of the plant is solid and consists of the so-called "Ngai-camphor", 

 with which only very little liquid oil is found admixed. This Ngai- 

 camphor \Ngai-fen) is used by the natives of the countries aforenamed 

 for medicinal purposes and in religious rites, as well as in the preparation 

 of Indian ink. It was first recognized as 1-borneol by Plowman 2 ), 

 F 1 ti c k i g e r 3 ), and H a 1 1 e r 4 ) . With this exception nothing was known 

 up to the present as to the chemical composition of true Ngai-camphor 

 oil. A number of years ago, Schimmel & Co. came into possession 

 of a dark-brown oil, possessing a characteristic odour reminding of 

 borneol, but probably this oil had already been freed from the bulk of 

 its born eol by distillation with water vapour. 



This oil possessed the following properties: d^o 0,950, a D — i2°3o',- 

 n D20° M815 1, acid no. 23,35, ester no. 1, ester no. after acetyl- 

 ation 198 (corresponding to 63,95 °/ °f alcohol C 10 H 13 O). Fractional 

 distillation under reduced pressure yielded a first fraction of 6,3 g. 

 of an oil with b. p. 38 (40 mm. press.) to 8o° (30 mm. press.). In 

 this, as well as in the next fraction, cineol could be identified by 

 the iodol compound m. p. 111,5°. The next following fraction 

 ( a D-f-4°io / ) which distilled between 8o° (30 mm. press.) and 75° 

 (12 mm. press.) gave a nitroso chloride with a m. p. of 103,5°. Taking 

 into account the boiling point of this fraction it is probable that the 

 nitrosochloride was that of limonene. As the further progress of 

 distillation in vacuo was made difficult through the liberal separation of 

 solid crystals (borneol) it became necessary to remove this substance 

 by freezing it out. But before this was done the oil was first treated 

 with dilute sodium carbonate solution and subsequently with a 5 °/ soda 

 liquor. With the latter, a phenol-like body was isolated from the oil, to 

 which detailed reference shill be made below. The sodium carbonate 

 solution dissolved traces of two solid acids, probably palmitic acid 

 and myristic acid. The crystals which separated under strong cooling 

 from the phenol-and-acid-free oil consisted of a mixture of 1-borneol 

 and 1- camphor. In order to isolate the borneol, part of this mixture 



*) Journ. d' Agriculture tropicale 8 (1908), 30; Report April 1908, 150. 



2 ) Pharmaceutical Journal III. 4 (1874), 7 IQ ; Neues Repert. f. d. Pharm. 23 

 (1874), 325. 



3 ) Pharmaceutical Journal III. 4 (1874), 829. 



4 ) Bericht October 1889, 54. 



