60 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1921. 



at once accounted for the different behaviour. It was established that the artificial 

 product consisted to about 70 per cent, of glycerin acetate, and that it seemed to 

 contain in the rest esters of the cinnamic acid, since the acid separated from this 

 fraction was identical as to melting point (133°) with cinnamic acid. To judge by 

 the sweetish taste methyl or ethyl esters of cinnamic acid had found application. 

 A product of this constitution can naturally not be a suitable substitute for 

 cinnamein, and we must not be surprised when it proved unsuitable for the intended 

 preparation. People must not take matters too easily in the preparation of artificial 

 products. It is by no means sufficient to pour some things together, without any 

 actual knowledge of the conditions, and then to give the creation some name. Parti- 

 cularly reprehensible are these products however, when a good substitute for the 

 respective oil is at disposal, such as benzyl benzoate, which is the main constituent of 

 the natural cinnamein and which might, therefore, rightly be called artificial cinnamein. 



Cinnamic Aldehyde. — Referring to a book of A. Landerer "Die Behandlwng der 

 Tuberkulose mit Zimtsaure" (The Treatment of Tuberculosis by means of Cinnamic Acid) 

 (1898) A. Phillipson 1 ) publishes the experiences which he made in treating lupus and 

 scrofulous glands with cinnamic aldehyde. Landerer had found that Peru balsam, 

 which had been applied with success in surgical tuberculosis, owed its efficiency to 

 the cinnamic acid. The simple preparation (cinnamic acid) acted with intravenous 

 introduction quite as favourably upon tuberculous growth as the complex preparation 

 (Peru balsam). On external application, however, the cinnamic acid proved little 

 efficient in surgical tuberculosis. For this reason Landerer applied in such cases only 

 Peru balsam or cinnamylmefacresol. Phillipson could confirm that Peru balsam was 

 much more efficient with external tuberculosis than cinnamic acid and its derivatives. 

 He found, however, a good substitute for the balsam in cinnamic aldehyde which has 

 recently also been much applied against scabies 2 ). For local treatment of external 

 tuberculosis a cotton wool pad, moistened with 1 per cent, aldehyde water, was twice 

 daily placed for one hour upon the affected spot. The cinnamic aldehyde always 

 called forth strong hyperemia, leucocytose and exudation and initiated the restoration 

 of the tissues without any loss. The author describes fully several cases in which 

 he was able to cure serious lupus in this way without any surgical help. 



Civet. — The news about the civet trade is not pleasing. It looks almost as if 

 unadulterated civet were no longer procurable. We had at any rate great difficulty 

 in obtaining any pure material. The samples which we collected for this purpose 

 from otherwise reputed firms of England, France and Germany were almost throughout 

 falsified, and in most instances, as the subjoined table will show, to a very considerable 

 extent. The examination was mostly effected by the method which we described on 

 page 69 of our last Report and may here briefly be summarised again. 5 g. of civet 

 are fused in an acetylation flask on a water bath and extracted successively with 

 90 per cent, alcohol, ether and chloroform. The extracts are collected in separate 

 saponification flasks, the solvents are distilled off, the residue is for some time placed 

 in a vacuum desiccator, and the weight and the acid value and ester value are then 

 determined. The weight of the portion of the civet which has not been dissolved is 

 likewise determined. The water percentage is deduced from the difference between 

 the applied quantity of civet and the extracts plus the insoluble residue. An incineration 





l ) Therap. Halhmonatshefte 34 (1920), 356. — 2 ) Cf. Report 1917, 90. 



