Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
May,  1881.  J 
On  Mesorcin. 
221 
ON  EESORCIN. 
By  Fbedekick  B.  Power,  Ph.D. 
Read  at  the  Phamaceutical  Meeting^  April  19. 
This  organic  body,  whicli,  until  a  comparatively  recent  date,  has 
possessed  chiefly  strictly  scientific  interest,  more  particularly  as  a  ben- 
zol derivative,  by  its  association  with  the  development  of  the  brilliant 
theories  regarding  the  constitution  of  the  large  class  of  so-called 
aromatic  compounds,  seems  now  to  have  received  considerable  atten- 
tion from  a  practical  standpoint,  and  to  have  attracted  notice  by  its 
asserted  valuable  properties  as  a  disinfectant,  antiseptic  and  caustic, 
and,  to  a  certain  extent  also  as  a  styptic  and  emulsifying  agent. 
Although  the  number  of  valuable  modern  disinfectants  and  anti- 
septics which  have  already  received  recognition  and  practical  applica- 
tion in  their  respective  spheres  is  by  no  means  small,  several  of  them 
belonging  also  to  the  benzol  group,  as  phenol,  thymol,  benzoic  and 
salicylic  acids,  the  newly  introduced  agent,  resorcin,  from  the  fact  of 
being  odorless,  and  admitting  also  of  a  considerable  range  of  applica- 
tion, would  seem  justly  entitled  to  an  opportunity  of  substantiating 
its  claims  on  the  broad  field  of  experiment. 
With  the  consideration  of  its  recent  introduction  and  application  in 
medicine  and  surgery,  and,  from  the  fact  of  not  having  heretofore 
received  any  special  pharmaceutical  notice  in  this  country,  it  was 
thought  of  interest  to  present  at  this  time  a  brief  resume  of  its  his- 
tory, methods  of  formation,  chemical  characters  and  applications, 
without  attempting,  however,  to  include  even  the  citation  of  all  the 
references  relating  to  the  voluminous  literature,  which  is  principally 
distributed  through  the  German  scientific  journals. 
Resorcin,  C6Hg02,  was  first  obtained  in  1864  by  Hlasiwetz  and 
Barth^  from  galbanum  resin,  in  amounts  of  about  6  per  cent.,  by  fuion 
with  caustic  potassa.  The  galbanum  resin,  previously  freed  from  gum 
by  means  of  alcohol,  is  fused  with  from  2 J  to  3  times  its  weight  of 
caustic  potassa  until  a  homogenous  mass  is  obtained,  which  is  then 
supersaturated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  filtered,  and  the  filtrate 
shaken  with  etlier.  The  etherial  solution  leaves  upon  evaporation,  or 
after  distilling  olf  the  ether,  a  residue,  which,  upon  distillation  yields 
^  "  Wien.  Acad.  Ber.,"  xlix  (2),  p.  203  ;  "Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.,"  cxxx,  p. 
854;  "Zeitschrift  Chem.  Pharm.,"  1861,  p.  208;  "Bull.  Boc.  Chim.  [2],  iii, 
205;  "Ann.  Ch.  Phys."  [4],  iv,  p.  490. 
