Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
April,  1886.  J 
Eucalyptus  Products. 
181 
EUCALYPTUS  PRODUCTS. 
The  introduction  of  the  oil  of  eucalyptus  into  the  new  British  Phar- 
macopoeia will  doubtless  serve  to  direct  attention  to  the  products  of 
this  important  genus  of  trees.  The  classical  monograph  of  the  genus 
by  Sir  F.  von  Mueller,  of  which  ten  decades  are  now  before  the  pub- 
lic, contains  a  large  amount  of  interesting  and  valuable  information 
concerning  both  the  oils  of  eucalyptus  and  the  "kino"  or  inspissated 
juice  yielded  by  many  of  the  species.  This  information  is,  however, 
scattered  throughout  the  body  of  the  work,  and  the  absence  of  a  general 
index  renders  it  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  piece  it  together.  It 
may,  therefore,  save  some  time  and  trouble  if  a  brief  summary  of  the 
more  interesting  facts  concerning  these  pharmaceutical  products  are 
presented  in  a  connected  form  in  these  pages. 
Eucalyptus  Oil. — In  a  genus,  of  which  the  members  so  closely  re- 
semble one  another  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  identify  any  given 
species,  it  might  be  imagined  that  the  products  would  not  vary  to  any 
great  extent.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case,  for  not  only  do  the 
volatile  oils  differ  in  specific  gravity,  but  in  flavor,  and  in  the  yield 
afforded  by  different  species.  The  oil  of  E.  piperita  and  E.  hoemastoma 
have  a  peppermint  odor,  that  of  E.  citriodora  a  citron  odor,  that  of 
E.  Staigeriana  exactly  resembles  oil  of  verbena. 
The  percentage  of  oil  in  the  different  species  will  be  readily  seen 
from  the  following  table,  as  given  by  Mr.  Bosisto  and  Mr.  Nitschke, 
as  obtained  from  1000  lbs.  of  about  equal  proportions  of  fresh  leaves 
and  twigs : 
Bosisto.  Nitschke. 
Ounces.  Ounces. 
E.  amygdalina   500 
E.  oleosa   200  62£ 
E.  leucoxylon   160 
E.  goniocalyx  '   150 
E.  incrassala  (dumosa)   140 
E.  globulus   120 
E.  odorata   112 
E.  obliqua   80 
E.uncinata   69 
E.  gracilis   54J 
E.  rostrata   15 
E.  melliodora   7 
E.  viminalis   7 
The  difference  in  yield  of  E.  oleosa  obtained  by  Mr.  Nitschke  prob- 
bably  depends  upon  the  fact  that  the  quantity  obtainable  varies  ac- 
