98 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



author prepared from the drug a gum, an oxydase, vanillin, a small quantity of aromatic 

 esters, and 5 per cent, of benzoic acid. 



Thymol. — The Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik in Ludwigshafen publish a method 

 of preparing thymol from m-cresol 1 ). The m-cresol is sulphonated, and the resulting 

 m-cresol-sulphonic acid treated with isopropyl alcohol and sulphudc acid (preferably 

 concentrated) in the warmth. The sulpho-group is split off the mass at a temperature 

 of from 120 to 125°, the thymol being distilled off simultaneously. The oil thus 

 obtained, which is almost completely soluble in dilute soda lye, is treated in the 

 usual way and subjected to fractionated distillation. The first runnings contain the 

 unaltered cresol, then the thymol passes over, whereas the last fraction contains 

 probably an isomeride of thymol, crystallizing from benzene in large crystals (m. p. 114 

 to 115°). 



The preparation of thymol from cymene has repeatedly been patented already 2 ). 

 R. M. Cole 3 ) suggests as a further improvement the electrolytic reduction of nitro- 

 cymene and the subsequent diazotisation and reduction of the l-methyl-2-amino-4-iso- 

 propyl-5-hydroxybenzene. The diazo-group is then replaced with hydrogen in the 

 usual way. 



Nothing is mentioned in the discussions as to the yield. 



By condensation of one molecule of salicylaldehyde and two molecules of thymol 

 in the presence of some dilute sulphuric acid, F. Lavilla Llorens 4 ) obtained hydroxy- 

 phenyldithymylmethane OH-C 6 rVCH : (C 6 rVCH 3 OHC 3 H 7 ) 2 , m. p. 185°; methyl ether, 

 m. p. 137 to 138°; ethylether, m. p. 77 to 78°. In these compounds all the three 

 hydroxyl-groups reacted. Tribromo derivative, m. p. 170°; iodine derivative, m. p. 111°. 

 By double interaction of the alkali derivatives with metal salts the lead, copper and 

 iron compounds were obtained. 



According to R. Maire 5 ) the following three species of Ptychotis occur in North 

 Africa: — 1. Ptychotis Ammi, L. = Sison Ammi, L. = Seseli ammoides, L. = Ptychotis 

 ammoides, Koch, a small annual plant occurring so abundantly in fallow ground that 

 one might think it was cultivated. This umbelliferous plant, found in all southern 

 Europe, is easily recognized by its smooth, naked stems and leaves, its petiolate 

 pinnules and its white inflorescences provided with dimorphous bracts but without 

 any involucre. 2. Ptychotis trachysperma, Boiss. = P. aspera, Pomel., is distinguished 

 from the former by its wrinkled fruits and its spatulate bracts. It occurs in western 

 North Africa and in Spain. 3. Ptychotis atlantica, Coss., a perennial flowering late and 

 occurring frequently in the higher mountains (Tell Mountains in the departments of 

 Algiers and Constantine; Aures Mountains). All the parts of these plants smell 

 strongly of thymol, especially the fruits, and might perhaps be used for the manu- 

 facture of this phenol. 



Brocq-Rousseii 6 ) mentions that horses can stand internal doses of 0.22 to 0.25 gram 

 of thymol per kilo. From 0.20 gram upwards symptoms of paralysis occur. The 

 symptoms of poisoning are faintness, ataxy, fall of temperature and often paralysis of 



l ) D.R.P. 350809 of July 4 th , 1920. — *) Cf. Berichte (German) 1920, 77; 1921, 74. — 3 ) Perfiim. Record 

 12 (1921), 281. Chem. Zentralbl. 1921, IV. 513. — *) Ann. Soc. Espanola Fis. Quim. [2] 18 (1920), 139. As per 

 Chem. Zentralbl. 1921, III. 785. — 5 ) Parfum. moderne 14 (1921), 79. — 6 ) Compt. rend. soc. de biologie 84 

 (1921), 257. As per Chem. Zentralbl. 1921, III. 125. 



