L PREPARATIONS. AND Drucs. Sia 69 
of acetic ic, propionic, bantice Pe opityric” n-hexylic, neheptylic, n-octylic, n-nonylic, 
3 n-decylic, n-undecylic, n-duodecylic, crotonic and benzoic acids. In the case of the 
Me homologous derivatives | of the saturated fatty acids, the solubility in water decreases 
E with rise in molecular weight, and vice versa in ether. The strength of the sharp taste 
; ‘reached a maximum with vanillyl-n-nonylamide and was equal to that of capsaicine. 
. Zingerone, ‘A-hydroxy-3- ‘methoxy- phenyl-methy!- ethyl-ketone, one of the pungent constit- — 
2 uents of ginger, proved to be a thousand times Wales in taste than capsaicine. 
in t) a eel Caf de. 
to Ss eee isa Jeibkneun fact that civet is often Aduictaied: and this ues itself 
all the more uncomfortably felt, as the methods of examination are still somewhat 
incomplete, on account of the peculiar nature of this secretion, and hence admixtures 
often. remain undetected. Adulterators seem to be especially active just now, for practi- 
cally the whole of the samples examined in our laboratory during the last few months 
were adulterated. It will be well if we go into this subject a little deeper, for we can 
at the same time describe our method of examination, which deviates somewhat: from 
5 -the proceedure which was formerly recommended by others. 4 
Z . Dodge, A. Hébert’), E. Parry?), H. E. Bivess’). and E. Charabot (in eaoueration with 
2 Hébert)*) have occupied themselves with the testing of civet. The civet was extracted 
with either a mixture of alcohol and ether (Hébert and Charabot), or with acetone and 
- petrol ether successively (Dodge, Parry). The insoluble part of the civet in the solvents 
_ named, amounted to from about 3 to co per cent., any way always below 6 per cent., ie? 
5 according to the “observations of. Hébert, and also of Parry. Three guaranteed pure 
4 ‘samples investigated by Hébert melted at 36 to 37° but not sharply, the fatty acids 
_ belonging thereto (51 to 70 per cent.) at 39°, the ash content varied between 0.6 and 
F 1.2 per cent. According to Hébert and Charabot the saponification value of civet ee. 
be higher than 100. 
; We may now allow our own Dobsetvaitenis to succeed the foregoing. We will first 
say, that with several samples of civet obtained from trustworthy sources, we have 
_ found an ash content of 1.09 to 2.15 per cent., an acid value of 47 to 89, an ester value 
of 23 to 75, and a sap. value of 70 to 128, i.e., values which vary greatly, and with 
— which- alone there is little to start with. Also, in our opinion, the behaviour of the 
a civet in a mixture of alcohol and ether often gives no information of its condition, 
> whilst the successive extraction with acetone and light petroleum promises more success 
in this respect. Hence we have followed this latter method, only we use other solvents 
‘ than acetone and petrol ether, viz., alcohol, ether and chloroform when they seem — 
_ more advantageous for the purpose at hand. The. chloroform is used to dissolve the 
‘resin products insoluble in alcohol, and also in ether. In order to save time and avoid 
_ triturating the civet with a diluting material, such as sand, and the like, we do not 
perform the extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus, but simply shake up the civet with the 
_ necessary solvent, and then continue the extraction with the same solvent on the filter. 
_ This causes less bother and, apart from the saving in time, possesses the advantage of 
allowing one to further examine the insoluble portions. We proceed as follows: — 
; 5 g. civet are melted in an acetylating flask .on the water bath, and are shaken 
psp, ke hot, at first with about 20 cc., and then three times, each time with the addition | 
. oe Bull. Soc. chim. Ill, 27 (1902), 997, Borcnk biGennash edition) April 1908, 104. — 2) Chemist and Druggist 
- GI (1902), 901; 62 (1903), 871; 65 (1904), 168. Bericht (German edition) April 1908, 104; October 1903, 109; 
- October 1904, 143. — 4) Naradt 28 (1903), 101. Bericht (German edition) October 1903, 110. — 4) Bull. 
_ Soc. chim. WV. 7% (1910), 687. Report October 1910, 150. Weed 
