Am.  Jour.  Phann. \  Chemical I  Examination  of  Nutmeg.  575 
December,  1908.    j  I  &  ->/  J 
The  above-mentioned  aqueous,  alkaline  liquid,  after  extraction 
with  ether,  was  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid  and  distilled  with 
steam,  but  the  only  volatile  product  was  a  little  myristic  acid.  The 
contents  of  the  distillation  flask  were  then  extracted  with  ether,  the 
ethereal  solution  being  washed,  dried,  and  the  ether  removed.  A 
quantity  of  solid  acids  was  thus  obtained,  which  was  distilled  under 
diminished  pressure  to  remove  some  resinous  matter.  The  greater 
portion  passed  over  at  205 0  C./20  mm.,  and  consisted  of  practically 
pure  myristic  acid,  melting  at  53 0  C.  From  a  smaller  fraction, 
collected  between  205  and  250 0  C./20  mm.,  a  small  quantity  of 
cerotic  acid,  melting  at  74-760  C,  was  isolated.  Some  unsaturated 
acids  were  also  present  in  the  mixture. 
Ether  Extract  of  the  Resin. 
This  was  a  soft,  reddish-brown  solid.  It  was  digested  with  an 
amount  of  ether  insufficient  to  dissolve  the  whole,  and  the  sparingly 
soluble  portion  separately  examined.  This  latter  portion  was  a 
brownish,  brittle  mass,  which  was  readily  soluble  in  hot,  but  only 
moderately  soluble  in  cold  alcohol.  It  was  systematically  fraction- 
ated from  alcohol,  but  the  deposits  all  appeared  to  be  amorphous. 
In  order  to  ascertain  whether  a  crystalline  acetyl  compound  could 
be  obtained  from  this  product,  it  was  heated  with  acetic  anhydride 
and  anhydrous  sodium  acetate  for  several  hours.  The  mixture  was 
then  treated  with  water,  when  a  solid  substance  separated,  which 
was  collected,  washed  with  water,  and  dried  on  a  porous  plate.  On 
fractionating  this  substance  from  hot  alcohol,  the  first  few  deposits, 
representing  the  greater  portion  of  the  material,  were  quite  amor- 
phous. The  mother-liquors,  however,  on  standing  for  some  time, 
yielded  a  small  quantity  (about  0.2  gramme)  of  a  crystalline  sub- 
stance, which  was  separated  from  some  amorphous  matter  by  filtra- 
tion through  muslin.  The  crystalline  substance  was  thus  obtained 
in  flat  plates,  melting  at  163-1640  C,  and,  after  drying  at  105 0  C, 
was  analyzed. 
0.1016  gave  0.2580  C02  and  0.0889  HaO.    C  =  69.3  ;  H  =  9.7. 
It  was  then  recrystallized  from  methyl  alcohol,  when,  after  drying 
at  1050  C,  it  melted  at  1 64-1 66°  C,  and  was  again  analyzed. 
0.0706  gave  0.1798  C02  and  0.0596  H20.    C  =  69.5 ;  H  =  94 
C27H4406  requires  0  =  69.8;  11  =  9.5  Per  cent- 
