Seige deen NA peel pe. ent ae 
* x, 7 * 4 . 
oe et x ath i : sr yhy Ori Tipo 
a IF ND NOTE ON ESSENTIAL ‘ous. is eee ee AO 
eS Ss many consumers ‘may je Fiiterested perhaps i in Seats we beg to indicate 
> constants of such bc ae ey together with the apne for a good pharmacopceia 
1. ei. 3. Phi dt as pharmacopeia 
. 1.0217 1.0597 1.0521 — 1.0588 1.0663 0.900 to 0.910 
mens ge Syd le OU A644 BO Bae) FON.) i go!" MBO 0 DO tol a9 
ility in 70 percent. alcohol . 1.8 vol. =, { Sevol.3s1.3vol: 1.5 vol. 2 to 4 vol. 
[OPE SEAL Seah ates Bt Se ah ON cag a 0) 5) pa up to 1.8 
Bet Nes ae ee SS BR0 2 ui 3. 873,2 385.6) 9) 400.5" ¢/ abt. 8 £6' 34 
er v. after Seerption Se ROL TAREE Wy asp) eet — 412 not under 158 
3 id v. II (comp. Report Oct.1910, 63). ier oa Weel 5 — — — = sap. v. 
d ease ee ree. wcand acid: vel en STF Ae a Wes Wee ee 0 
tents of ie ester... "abt. S58 Ne Ci abt ip. ciabt, 65 Pc: ore 66 p.c. abt. 69 pec: — 
a Oy comparison shows that all the dils adulterated with phthalic. ae are conspicuous 
by ; their high specific gravity, their low rotation and, above all, by their abnormal ester 
va lue. The- latter constant deserves the greatest attention of the analyst, for even if — 
it does. not exceed the normal figures to such an extent as in the present case, the 
si “ees of an adulteration is given. | : | 
The acetylation value does not, of course, - afford any ‘cite as to ‘the. quantity of 
total menthol, as it depends in the main upon the phthalic ester and is, in consequence, 
far too high. For instance, the acetylation number of 357.5 indicated under 1, would 
me rco7 to a menthol content of 136 per cent., 2. ¢. quite an impossible figure. 
The content of phthalic ester mentioned in the foregoing tables has. been calculated 
m mostly from the ester value of the oils. It is to be ascertained more precisely from 
e difference between the saponification value and the acid value Il, for it discloses 
direct the quantity of the phthalic acid present. In this way, the value for oil no. 2 has 
een determined. The phthalic acid was separated in the usual way and characterized 
by pitts m, p. (195 to 197°) or that of its anhydride, obtained through sublimation (130°). 
The firm in question has shown a certain ingenuity in faking peppermint | oils. 
F two other such oils from the. same source, one was adulterated with glycerol — 
acetate, the other with alcohol. The former behaved as follows: dis0 0.9144, % —29°37’, 
n 1 vol. and more of alcohol 80 per cent., dilute solution opalescent. The high ester v. 
led to suspecting the presence of eee ester, the nature of which was disclosed 
4 shaking the oil with water and evaporating the aqueous solution on a water-bath. — 
. residue of the high ester v. 686.5 remained, which in addition to the solubility in 
w ih ‘pointed to glycerol acetate. In accordance with this, the ‘specific gravity of 
Boll was much lower after the shaking with water than before. A quantitative 
‘mination (comp. Report April 1911, 150) showed that about 10 per cent. of glycerol 
er were present. Taking into consideration the ready solubility of said ester, the 
in 2 ffi ient solubility of the oil clearly shows of what inferior quality it must have been. 
Ep: The oil adulterated with alcohol made itself suspicious by its very low specific 
gta vity, whereas the other constants were normal: dis0 9.8825, “) — 19°35’, acid v. 0.45, 
ester v. 48.0, ester v. after acetylation 198.3. Our supposition | that the oil had been 
ad ult erated with alcohol proved correct and it resulted that the quantity added 
10 unted to nearly 30 per cent., which showed again that the firm in question is not 
satisfied with trifles. This Pepa oil had agian been denominated ° ‘pure, 
concentrated!“ ; 
lt would lead too far to enumerate all the adulterated peppermint oils we have 
lad to test. We only add, therefore, that we have had before us a considerable 
det 
- a 
cid v. 03, ester v. 93.3, incompletely soluble in 10 vols. of alcohol 70 per cent., soluble ae 
