80 Report of Schimmel § Co. April /October 1917. 



Wormseed Oil, American. The samples of American wormseed oil which came 

 to hand in the course of the last yearly reporting period were again invariably quite 

 inferior substitutes which mostly did not contain even a trace of genuine chenopodium 

 oil. We should only have to repeat what we said in our two last Imports if we were 

 to discuss them in detail here, and we confine ourselves to the remark that besides 

 the substances already mentioned formerly as components of these substitutes: 

 eucalyptol, anethol, and menthol, recently also an ester, apparently amyl acetate is 

 employed. There is one case, however, which we should not like to pass over, 

 because the impudence with which the manufacturer stands up for his product, deserves 

 to be more widely known. 



Under the designation Ol. chenopodii artific. an oil was sent us for investigation which 

 gave the following constants: di 50 0.9536; « D — 3° 18'; ester value 156.8; soluble in 

 1.7 vols, of 70 per cent, and 0.5 vols, of 80 per cent, alcohol, showing strong opalescence 

 in each case on more of the solvent being added. Of these constants, the exceedingly 

 high ester value is surprising, as chenopodium oil only contains merely traces of 

 ester compounds. Even if in an artificial product not all the qualities of the natural 

 oil were expected to be present, such a decided difference as the one mentioned 

 above, immediately proves that the composition of this substance must be a very 

 different one. On further examination we found that the characteristic components 

 of the chenopodium oil were totally absent in this oil and that in the main it consisted 

 of compounds which in no case occur in the genuine oil, namely of eucalyptol, anethol, 

 and of an ester, probably amyl acetate. Unfortunately, the nature of this ester could 

 not be exactly determined, as only a small quantity was available. Of course, this 

 compound differed completely in smell and taste from genuine chenopodium oil and 

 it was self-evident that under these circumstances its effect was quite different. Such 

 a fabrication can by no means be termed a substitute for chenopodium oil and 

 accordingly the designation Ol. Chenopodii artific. is decidedly inadmissible, as one 

 demands from such a product that at least it should contain the essential and in 

 this case indispensable component of chenopodium oil, namely, ascaridol, as otherwise 

 one might designate any other oil, to which anthelmintic qualities are ascribed, for 

 instance tansy oil, as Ol. Chenopodii artific. and this would certainly be going too far. 

 All attempts to produce an artificial chenopodium oil are doomed to be in vain, till 

 one has succeeded in producing ascaridol, and there is no prospect of this at present. 



It is perfectly comical to see the manner the manufacturer tries to defend his 

 product. Amongst other statements, he says that the main component of the cheno- 

 podium oil is eucalyptol and that this substance is also present in his artificial oil 

 in a corresponding ratio. He further adds that as an artificial compound it could 

 not be a complete substitute for genuine oil, but that it was just as harmless as 

 the latter. 



In considering the opinion stated as to the composition of the oil one must ask 

 oneself involuntarily if the manufacturer intended to lead his clients astray consciously 

 or if he has not the faintest idea what are the components of chenopodium oil. His 

 saying that eucalyptol is present in his oil "in corresponding ratio" sounds rather 

 suspicious, but in spite of that, we will give him credit that he knows nothing whatever 

 about the matter, and we regard it as deplorable that the manufacture of an artificial 

 chenopodium oil should have been attempted by such an ignoramus. The negative 

 results of his proceedings became patent. 



Concerning its harmlessness his product would certainly surpass the genuine oil, 

 as we can assure the manufacturer for the sake of his peace of mind, since the genuine 



