=e 7 | 
ut it s results which are Badct het font ou purpose. With pure ¢ cinnamic aed. 
b 
Y > found. 96 per cent., with a mixture of equal parts of cinnamic acid and benzoic 
a sid 47 per cent., and with a mixture of !/s cinnamic acid and 2/3 benzoic acid the 
result was 32 per cent. of cinnamic acid. 
The acid mixture separated from the cinnamein under examination contained, as 
. _ shewn by above-described test, 1.8 per cent. of cinnamic acid which confirmed our 
_ suspicion that the cinnamein consisted almost exclusively of benzyl benzoate. With five — 
_ samples of cinnamein from pure Peru balsams, examined for comparison purposes, 
the cinnamic acid content varied, it is true, between” 20 and 41 per cent., but the | 
_ proportion of cinnamic acid to benzoic acid is, however, not to be opteaied with 
_ the cinnamein sample under examination. 
‘To say the least of it, the balsam in question must therefore be looked upon as 
heavily adulterated, but possibly it was an artificial product, made, perhaps, in this 
_way, that Peru balsam residues obtained in the manufacture of cinnamein were mixed © 
with benzyl benzoate until the concoction shewed the constants of a pure balsam. 
. Safrole. J. Klasi and O. Roth) describe a case of safrole poisoning. The safrole, — 
along with a number of other substances, possibly equally poisonous, was contained 
_ in a mixture which is Said to be used under the name of Macassar oil as rubefacient 
in Java, and of which a certain quantity had been swallowed by accident. After ten 
_ minutes there were symptoms of unrest, vertigo, disturbéd orientation, hallucinations, — oa 
‘nausea, a powerful sensation of thirst and diarrhea. In the urine traces of albumen 
and urobiline were present, diazo-reaction producing a positive result. Among further 
patellar’ reflexes. Mentally there were symptoms of desorientation, anxious disposition 
2 symptoms there were pareesthesias, tonic spasms and temporary disapperance of the = ae 
3 and delusions of hearing and sensation (feeling), also of sight and smell, furthermore ~ 
- delusions-and divers katatonic symptoms (automatisms, echopraxia and verbigeration). 
_ This lasted for 17 days, after which the hallucinatory state gradually disappeared along — 
4 with the anise-like odour of the expired air, until a few days later complete recovery 
_ set in. A remarkable fact were the strong variations in the intensity of the delirious 
_ symptoms, especially during the time the attention of the patient was attracted by 
incidents in his immediate proximity when all these symptoms disappeared and rational 
replies were elicited from the patient. 
= Styrax. Varying statements may be found in literature concerning the chemical — 
_ composition of styrax balsam. Earlier authors assume the constituents to be isomeric 
alcohols, the storesinols of the formula Cz;H;sO3: Later research work by Tschirch 
and van Itallie appear to have solved the question definitely. According to their con- 
Z viction the solid parts of storax balsam, the resin proper, consist of a single storesinol, 
bound to cinnamic acid, of the formula CigHs¢Q2, being isomeric with benzoresinol, a 
ee cibcent of benzoin gum. M. Henze?) now makes the surprising communication that 
this resin contains considerable quantities of free pimaric and abietinic acids which, 
so far had been considered exclusively as characteristics of the resins of conifers, 
but it is now shewn that also deciduous trees form this acid’). On the other hand > 
_ it must not be lost sight of that the resins from conifers are pathological products 
; 4) Monatsschr. f. Psych. 88 (1915), 235; Therap. Monatsh. 29 (1915), 087. —  *) Berl. Berichte 49 (1916), 
_ 1622. — %) Styrax balsam originates from Liquidambar orientale, Mill. (N.O. Hamamelidacee). 
