94 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



pure cresineol is added to the oil before carrying out the determination. The result is 

 calculated by means of a table, with due regard to the cineole or cresineol added. 



According to this modified method the author tested a series of oils with low 

 cineole content, with the following results: — 



Percentage esters Percentage cineole 



Lavender oils, French . . . 29 to 52.7 18.0 to 22.6 



„ English . . . 6.2 „ 10.7 23.6 „ 27.4 



Spike oils 2.3 „ 3.9 33.2 „ 39.0 



Rosemary oils, French . . . 3.1 and 4.1 23.2 and 25.4 



oil, Spanish ... 2.5 19.4 



We abstain from discussing the correctness of these figures, yet we find the 

 quantity of cineole found by Cocking in the French "lavender oils remarkably high. 

 According to our own observations 1 ), French lavender oils contain only very small 

 amounts of cineole, and we come to the conclusion that Cocking must have dealt with 

 adulterated, or highly impure oils. Should this not be the case, the results would 

 certainly not speak in favour of the cresineol method, which, too, was originally devised 

 for different purposes. In such a case, the statements concerning the cineole content 

 of the other oils would have to be regarded with some doubts. 



Gum Benjamin. — A. Mayrhofer 2 ) examined a gum benjamin offered by a Vienna 

 firm as Palembang benzoin and sent in tins of 15 kilos. The drug which ought to alter 

 quickly its appearance when the pieces are broken and left in contact with the air, 

 consisted of reddish-gray to gray-brown pieces which easily crumbled and showed on 

 some larger surfaces the impression of white pieces of tissue. The neighbouring pieces 

 of gum were gray or blackish. The main part of the substance was composed of pieces 

 of wood, held together by a whitish or brownish-red, glossy mass. After exhaustive 

 extraction with alcohol there was a residue of 52 to 68 per cent. No cinnamic acid 

 was present (test with potassium permanganate). As to benzoic acid, 3.1 per cent. 

 == 9 per cent, of the part soluble in alcohol, were obtained. The alcoholic extract had 

 the following constants: acid v. 99.9 (determined indirectly), saponification v. 198.1 

 (determined in the cold). The microscopic examination of the pieces of bark showed 

 that they originated from a Styracea. 



The available data were therefore not sufficient to characterize the drug as Palembang 

 benzoin, especially because the mother plant and origin of this commodity are not 

 known well enough so far 3 ). Nevertheless the article is said to have a certain value, 

 as it may be useful, for instance, for preparing benzoin tincture. 



Heliotropin. — The oxidation of isosafrole to heliotropin is considerably favoured 

 by the addition of amino-carboxylic acids. On the strength of this fact C. Sievers and 

 L. Givaudan § Co. 4 ) publish a process, consisting in that 120 parts of isosafrole are 

 oxidized at a medium temperature with a solution of either sodium bichromate 



J ) Comp. Report October 1893, 27. For safety's sake, we endeavoured to prove or determine, with four 

 lavender oils of warranted purity, the cineole present and arrived at the result, in accord with our former 

 experiences,, that lavender oil contains but so little cineole, that the proof of its presence causes some 

 difficulty. There is absolutely no possibility that pure lavender oils contain such an amount of cineole as 

 stated by Cocking. — 2 ) Apothelter Ztg. 36 (1921), 821. — 3 ) According to Liidy and Tschirch Palembang 

 benzoin is exported from Palembang in Sumatra; Dieterich mentions as mother-plant a Styracea of Further 

 India, about which nothing definite is known. — *) Swiss Pat. 91087, Oct. 17, 1921. Addn. to 89053. Cf. 

 p. 99 of this Report. 



