— 25 — 



has been subjected to a thorough examination by C. W. Moore 1 ). 

 By distilling the alcoholic extract with steam a small quantity (3 g. 

 from 19 kilos rhizome = 0,016%) of an essential oil of pale yellow 

 colour and strong, persistent odour, was isolated. This oil was found 

 to possess the following constants: d^ 0,948, b. p. 130 to 250 , 

 a D -f- o° 50'- The oil gave a strong furfurol - reaction. Aceto- 

 vanillone, CH 3 • C 6 H 3 (OH) . CO- CH 3 (m. p. 112 to 114 ) was 

 also detected in the distillate. This body was obtained in consid- 

 erable proportions from the non-volatile part of the alcoholic extract 

 of the rhizome, partly also in the from of aceto-vanillone glucoside, 

 CH 3 .CO.C 6 H 3 OCH 3 .O.C 6 H u 5 -+- 2H 2 0. This is a new glu- 

 coside, to which Moore gives the name of "androsin". It dissolves 

 readily in hot water and in hot dilute alcohol. The fact that it is 

 hydrolysed by emulsin shows it to be a /?-glucoside. The author also 

 isolated from the rhizome a series of other bodies, which, however, 

 do not belong to the constituents of essential oils and are therefore 

 outside our sphere of interest. 



Arnica Oil. We are again able to supply an exquisite freshly 

 distilled oil from flowers, although there was some difficulty in pro- 

 curing suitable distilling material. We were also able at the proper 

 time again to replenish our stock of arnica root oil. 



Kondakow 2 ) has lately made an investigation of arnica root oil. 

 From this oil he succeeded in isolating an unsaturated hydrocarbon, 

 m. p. 176 to 180 , a solid body (m. p. 69 ), and a sulphurous com- 

 pound. He was able to confirm the presence of zso- butyl phlorol 

 and dimethylthymohydroquinone, which had already been discovered 

 in the oil by Siegel 3 ). 



Oil of Artemisia Herba-alba var. densiflora. We have 

 recently again distilled a parcel of the herb of this plant, to which 

 reference was made in our last Report 4 ), and obtained a yield of 

 0,58 °/ of oil, which differs in several respects from that described last. 

 It is also of a brownish-yellow colour and is distinguished by a pungent 

 odour, which was only perceptable in a slight degree in the former 

 sample. On the other hand, in the recently-distilled sample the odour 

 of thujone or sage does not appear until some time after preparation. 

 But the principal difference lies in the change of optical rotation, for 

 whereas the old oil was laevorotatory, the new sample is dextro- 



*) Journ. chem. Soc. 95 (1909), 734. 



2 ) Journ. f. prakt. Chem. II. 79 (1909), 505. 



3 ) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 688. 



4 ) Report April 1909, 98. 



