Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1893. 
Examination  of  Beeswax. 
NOTES  ON  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  BEESWAX. 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebler,  Ph.C.B.S. 
Read  before  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  November  21,  1893. 
When  the  contribution1  on  "  An  Examination  of  Beeswax,"  by  E„ 
G.  Parry  and  P.  A.  Estcourt  appeared  as  representing  the  sophisti- 
cation of  this  article  in  the  English  market,  the  writer  had  nearly 
completed  a  communication  on  the  same  subject  in  the  United 
States. 
The  waxes  examined,  and  the  results  submitted  below,  were 
samples  sent  to  this  laboratory  during  the  past  year  and  fairly 
represented  the  commercial  article. 
Beeswax  is  a  mixture  of  myricin,  cerin  and  cerolein.  Myricin 
(C46H9202)  forms  the  chief  constituent  of  wax,  is  insoluble  in  alcohol 
and  fuses  at  64  0  C. 
Cerolein  constitutes  only  from  4-5  per  cent,  of  the  wax,  has  an  acid 
reaction  and  is  the  constituent  to  which  wax  owes  its  tenacity,  odor 
and  color. 
Cerotic  acid  or  cerin  (C27H5402)  is  not  a  constant  in  beeswax. 
B.  C.  Brodie,2  in  his  classic  work,  "  Untersuchung  liber  die 
chemische  Natur  des  Wachses,"  has  shown  that  cerin  consists  essen- 
tially of  a  high  fatty  acid,  i.  e.y  cerotic  acid  while  myricin  is  the  pal- 
mitic ether  of  melissic  alcohol.  F.  Schwalb3  and  F.  Nafzger4  have 
proven  wax  to  contain  small  quantities  of  acids  related  to  cerotic 
acid  as  melissic  acid,  also  some  non-saturated  acids  of  the  oleic  acid 
series  and  some  alcohols  related  to  cerylic  alcohol  as  melissic 
alcohol.  They  have  also  proven  it  to  contain  saturated  hydrocar- 
bons, such  as  hentriacontane  (C31H64)  and  heptacosane  (C27H50). 
It  was  thirty-four  years  after  the  composition  of  beeswax  was 
made  known  or  the  way  paved  for  the  introduction  of  a  method 
before  a  method  was  proposed  for  the  examination  of  this  article 
based  on  the  determination  of  the  free  and  combined  acids,  respec- 
tively. 
The  Acid  and  the  Ether  Numbers  — These  were  determined  by  the 
1  1893,  read  before  the  Brit.  Pharm.  Conference ;  Nottingham,  through  the 
Am.  Drug,  and  Pharm.  Record,  23,  158. 
2  1848,  Ann.  Chem.  (Liebig),  67,  180 ;  Phil.  Trans.,  London,  136,  147. 
1849,  Ann.  Chem.  (Liebig),  71,  144. 
3  1884,  Ann.  Chem.  (Liebig),  224,  225. 
4  1886,  Ibid.,  235,  106. 
