112 Report of Schimmel 6j Co. April /October 1917. 



suitable manner with water and then distilled into a separating funnel, fitted with a 

 mark; one then adds 50 g. of salt and 100 cc. of water, agitates first with 10 and twice 

 with 5 cc. petroleum ether, evaporates the latter at a temperature not exceeding 30°, 

 and then weighs. The determination of the volatile oil contents of the above-mentioned 

 liqueurs according to the iodine value and weighing method proved that the iodine 

 value method was only applicable in the case of aniseed and kummel liqueurs, but 

 that it fails in the case of the other liqueurs, whereas the weighing-method gives reliable 

 results in the case of all liqueurs. 



L. Ronnet 1 ) obtained fairly good results in determining the volatile oils of aniseed 

 and chartreuse. In his experiments, he employed alcoholic solutions of volatile oils 

 such as are used in the manufacture of aniseed and chartreuse, and prepared the corre- 

 sponding liqueurs with quantities of solution varying from 0,333 to 1.0 g. added 200 g. 

 of sugar per litre and alcohol of 36 per cent, content. For the determination of the 

 iodine value, he added 30 to 40 cc. of water to every 110 cc. of liqueur, distilled off 

 the volatile components, and diluted 100 cc. of the distillate with 95 per cent, alcohol 

 and water to 150 cc. of a liquid of 50 per cent, alcohol content. This liquid was 

 employed for determining the iodine value by a treatment lasting 3 hours. For the 

 purpose of calculating the content of the liqueurs in volatile oils, the coefficient 1.515 

 was used in the case of aniseed, and 1.498 in the case of chartreuse. The results he 

 found proved to be in the former substance 0.113 and 0.108, in the latter 0.092 and 0.098 

 instead of 0.1 per cent. The same author 2 ) has also examined the extracts prepared with 

 alcohol of 18 per cent, from the plants used in the manufacture of vermouth-wine, in 

 reference to their iodine value and found that such an extract whose preparation entailed 

 the employment of 15 to 20 times more herbs than are generally used absorbed 1.372 g. 

 iodine per litre. This forces one to the conclusion that vermouth-wine, prepared in the 

 ordinary manner, can only contain an infinitesimal quantity of volatile oils. 



A. Bonis 3 ) recommends a combination of the iodine-value and weighing-methods 

 which, however, is only suitable for liqueurs containing more than 0.5 per cent, of 

 volatile oils. 



R. Marcille 4 ) has examined the volatile oils mostly employed in the manufacture 

 of liqueurs in reference to their attitude when determining their iodine value and 

 refractive power. The results obtained were as follows: The iodine value of angelica 

 oil gave regular curves and showed an increase of the iodine number in the dark room 

 and a reduction in full day-light. The same applies to coriander, peppermint, and balm 

 oils. On the other hand, the iodine value curves of aniseed oil showed striking irreg- 

 ularities. In full day-light, they are always higher than in the dark room, besides 

 which the curves gave a maximum in their first section, before conforming to the gene- 

 ral impression produced by the curves of the other volatile oils. Star anise oil shows 

 an increase of the iodine value in full day-light, just like aniseed oil. Hence it is advisable 

 to determine the iodine number of volatile oils in the dark room and to allow the 

 reaction to continue for a space of 12 to 24 hours. 



The above results prove that all mixtures of volatile oils which indicate a higher 

 iodine value when exposed to light than in the dark room, contain aniseed or star 

 anise oil. The iodine value also allows one to distinguish peppermint oil from menthol, 

 as the former does not react at all with iodine, whereas the latter has a iodine value, 





x ) Ann. des Falsifications 9 (1916), 14; Chem. Zentralbl. 1916, II. 856. — 2 ) Ann: des Falsifications 9 (1916), 

 144; Chem. Zentralbl. 1916, II. 851. — 3 ) Ann. des Falsifications 9 (1916), 12; Chem. Zentralbl. 1916, II. 850. - 

 Ann. des Falsifications 9 (1916), 6; Chem. Zentralbl. 1916, II. 849. 



