Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1889. 
Oil  of  Maize. 
503 
OIL  OF  MAIZE. 
By  Chaeles  Edtvaed  Bowees,  Ph.  G. 
Abstract  from  Thesis. 
To  extract  the  oil  from  the  seed,  corn  was  taken  in  the  different 
stages  of  its  growth  to  ascertain  at  what  age  it  contains  the  largest 
amount  of  oil.  The  corn  was  carefully  dried  after  which  it  was  re- 
moved from  the  cob,  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder  and  percolated  with 
petroleum  ether  to  remove  the  oil.  The  youngest  specimen  tried  con- 
tained one  per  cent,  of  its  weight  of  oil.  The  amount  gradually 
increased  with  the  age  of  the  corn  until  the  maximum  was  reached  in 
that  which  was  allowed  to  fully  ripen  and  dry  upon  the  stalks.  The 
amount  yielded  by  such  corn  was  3.16  per  cent. 
The  oil  is  said  to  reside  entirely  in  the  embryo  or  germ  of  the  corn, 
and  to  ascertain  if  such  be  the  case  a  portion  of  the  corn  was  carefully 
deprived  of  its  embryo,  coarsely  powdered  and  percolated  with  petro- 
leum ether,  no  oil  was  obtained.  The  germs  on  the  other  hand  freed 
from  all  integuments  and  treated  in  the  same  manner  yielded  22  per 
cent. 
As  obtained  the  oil  was  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  and  had  a  somewhat 
thicker  consistence  than  either  cottonseed  or  olive  oils.  The  odor  was 
slight  but  peculiar ;  its  taste  not  unpleasant,  bland  and  oleaginous ; 
its  specific  gravity  .917.  It  is  a  fixed  oil  belonging  to  the  group  of 
non-drying  and  is  well  adapted  for  lubricating  purposes.  It  is  soluble 
in  all  proportions  in  ether,  bi-sulphide  of  carbon,  chloroform,  and 
benziri ;  very  sparingly  soluble  in  95  per  cent,  alcohol,  forming  a 
milky  mixture  when  shaken  with  that  body  which  separates  on  stand- 
ing into  two  layers,  both  of  which  are  perfectly  transparent.  The  oil 
readily  saponifies  with  so  weak  an  alkali  as  lime  water,  and  with 
potassa  or  soda  it  forms  a  white  soap.  A  thin  layer  of  the  oil  exposed 
to  the  air  for  several  weeks  did  not  show  any  rancidity  and  to  all 
appearances  remained  unchanged.  In  this  respect  it  compares  favor- 
ably with  the  oils  of  rape  seed,  olive,  etc. 
Upon  strongly  heating,  the  oil  emits  characteristic  smoky,  irritat- 
ing and  very  disagreeable  vapors,  somewhat  similar  to  those  produced 
in  the  heating  of  cottonseed  oil.  It  therefore  would  not  be  tolerated 
as  an  adulterant  to  lard,  because  the  odor  developed  upon  heating 
would  certainly  betray  its  presence.  Lard  itself  is  decomposed  at 
high  temperatures,  but  the  odor  produced  is  entirely  distinct  from  that 
produced  when  oil  of  maize  is  associated  with  it. 
