Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1893. 
} 
Macassar  Oil. 
529 
It  is  obtained  either  by  expression  or  by  boiling  the  bruised  seeds 
in  water  and  skimming  off  the  oil  which  rises  to  the  surface. 
It  has  in  former  years  been  imported  into  this  country  ;  latterly, 
however,  a  product  under  the  name  of  macassar  oil  but  which  in 
reality  was  mainly  composed  of  cocoanut  oil  in  which  the  blossoms  of 
Ylang  Ylang,  Cananga  odorata,  or  of  the  false  Ylang  Ylang,  Michelia 
champaca,  N.  O.  Magnoliacese,  have  been  digested,  began  to  make 
its  appearance  on  the  market  and  took  the  place  of  the  former. 
Now,  mostly  domestic  oils  under  the  same  name,  suitably  perfumed 
and  frequently  colored  red  with  alkanet,  have  entirely  replaced  the 
natural  product. 
The  writer  recently  received  a  small  sample  of  the  true  macassar 
oil  from  Mirzapoor,  Hindoostan.  At  the  ordinary  temperature  it  is 
semi-solid,  of  a  yellowish  white  appearance  and  has  a  weak  odor  of 
bitter  almonds.  It  is  said  to  contain  hydrocyanic  acid  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  in  the  stimulating  properties  of  this  constituent  the 
cause  of  the  ascribed  beneficial  action  of  the  oil  may  reside. 
It  has  a  mildly  acrid  taste,  probably  due  to  partial  rancidity  and 
an  acid  reaction  to  litmus  paper.  It  is  completely  liquefied  at  820  F. 
(280  C.)  and  congeals  near  500  F.  ( io°  C.)  The  oil  is  readily  saponi- 
fied by  sodium  hydrate  even  at  a  low  temperature,  the  soap  being 
white  and  hard.  With  nitrous  acid  it  assumes  an  orange  red  color 
and  becomes  viscid  but  does  not  seem  to  solidify.  On  adding  5  drops 
of  the  oil  to  20  drops  of  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  it  acquires  a 
reddish  brown  color.  The  oil  is  freely  soluble  in  chloroform,  ether, 
bisulphide  of  carbon,  benzol,  benzine  and  the  fixed  and  volatile  oils, 
but  only  slightly  soluble  in  alcohol.  It  has  a  specific  gravity  of 
0942. 
An  excellent  formula  for  preparing  a  so-called  macassar  oil  for 
the  hair  and  which  has  given  great  satisfaction  to  those  who  have 
used  it,  is  the  following : 
Castor  Oil,  
Alcohol,  
Oil  of  Nutmeg,    .  .  . 
Oil  of  Rosemary,     .  . 
Oil  of  Sweet  Marjoram, 
Oil  of  Neroli,  .... 
Oil  of  Rose,  
Tincture  of  Musk,  .  . 
Alkanet,   
sufficient  to  colci 
16  f  oz. 
3  f  oz. 
30  ttl 
10  ttl 
IO  TT^ 
IO  Vt\, 
20  TTL 
