Am.  Jour.  Pharm.") 
January,  1899.  J 
The  Chemistry  of  Sassafras. 
3i 
chemical  industry  as  well  as  in  medicine.  For  medicinal  purpose 
safrol  is  even  preferable  to  oil  of  sassafras,  as  it  always  has  a  uniform 
composition  and  its  purity  may  be  easily  determined  by  the  usual 
tests.  On  the  other  hand,  the  natural  oil  always  shows  some  varia- 
tion in  composition. 
OIL  OF  SASSAFRAS  LEAVES. 
In  addition  to  the  root  bark  oil,  the  composition  of  which  we  have 
already  considered  the  sassafras  tree  also  produces  another  essential 
oil  which  does  not  appear  in  commerce  and  which  in  part  seems  to 
have  been  distilled  but  once  for  the  purpose  of  chemical  examina- 
tion, namely  the  oil  of  sassafras  leaves.  It  is  quite  well  known  that 
sassafras  leaves  when  crushed  exhale  a  rather  strong  and  very 
agreeable  odor.  The  quantity  of  oil  that  can  be  extracted  there- 
from by  steam  distillation,  is,  however,  only  very  small,  amounting 
to  only  0-028  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  fresh  leaves.  The  oil 
has,  when  fresh,  a  greenish  yellow  color,  turning  to  a  reddish  brown 
with  age ;  it  has  a  much  lower  specific  gravity,  0-^73,  than  the  bark 
oil,  an  optical  rotation  of  plus  6°  25',  and  a  very  agreeable 
odor  somewhat  resembling  oil  of  lemon  and  oil  of  citronella. 
The  characteristic  odor  is  indeed  due  to  the  presence  of  the  same 
aromatic  bodies  which  exist  in  the  latter  oils,  for  chemical  exami- 
nation has  proven  that  the  oil  contains  a  considerable  amount  of 
citral,  C10H16O,  and  geraniol  C10H18O.  Citral,  the  source  of  the  lemon 
odor,  can  be  isolated  by  taking  advantage  of  the  fact  that  it  forms  a 
compound  with  sodium  bisulphite  ;  and  geraniol,  the  alcohol  from 
which  originates  the  rose-like  odor  of  the  oil  of  citronella,  oil  of 
geranium  and  oil  of  roses,  may  be  identified  by  the  formation  of  a 
solid  compound  with  calcium  chloride.  Besides  this,  another  alco- 
hol, isomeric  with  geraniol,  has  been  isolated,  namely  linalool.  This 
alcohol  is  found  associated  with  geraniol,  in  many  essential  oils,  and, 
when  present  either  in  the  free  state  or  as  an  ester  of  acetic  or  of 
valerianic  acid,  is  the  source  of  the  sweet  odor  of  oil  of  linaloe,  oil  of 
lavender  and  oil  of  bergamot.  Derivatives  of  these  two  alcohols  are 
also  present  in  oil  of  sassafras  leaves,  in  the  form  of  their  acetic  and 
valerianic  esters.  Apart  from  these  highly  aromatic  principles,  the 
oil  also  contains  several  terpenes,  namely  pinene  and  phellandrene, 
considerably  more  of  the  latter  than  is  present  in  the  bark  oil ;  there 
is  also,  apparently  a  considerable  amount  of  some  hydrocarbon 
