554 
Salol. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1886. 
essential  factor  in  the  analysis  of  salol,  it  ought  to  happen  that  diges- 
tion with  saliva  should  lead  to  the  purple  coloration  with  ferric  chlo- 
ride under  the  conditions  already  laid  down,  and  this  in  fact  is  what 
occurs.  The  saliva  is  so  slightly  alkaline,  however,  that  the  amount 
of  salol  decomposed  is  correspondingly  minute  and  the  coloration  very 
faint.    The  weak  taste,  of  salol  is  therefore  accounted  for. 
Having  passed  the  duodenum  the  salicylate  and  phenate  of  alkali, 
which  are  slowly  produced  as  the  gut  is  followed,  are  in  condition  to 
exercise  their  respective  antiseptic  powers,  and  to  be  absorbed  into  the 
circulation.   They  are  voided  as  urate  of  salicyl  and  as  sulphophenol. 
So  far  as  I  know,  the  process  of  manufacture  of  salol  has  not  been 
made  public.  I  have  tried  to  produce  it  by  dissolving  salicylic  acid 
in  excess  of  carbolic  acid  with  the  aid  of  a  gentle  heat,  but  have  not 
succeeded  in  getting  the  whole  of  the  salicylic  acid  so  combined  as  not 
to  give  the  purple  coloration  at  once  with  ferric  chloride.  It  seems 
not  improbable  that  it  should  be  formed  by  treating  with  hydrochlo- 
ric acid  at  an  earlier  stage  in  the  manufacture  of  salicylic  acid.  As 
you  know,  when  the  carbonic  acid  gas  is  brought  into  the  presence  of 
carbolate  of  sodium  in  the  retort,  a  molecule  of  the  former  is  absorbed 
with  production  of  a  molecule  of  salicylate  of  sodium,  and  a  molecule 
of  carbolic  acid,  which  distils  away.  If  the  mixed  salicylate  of  sodi- 
um and  carbolic  acid  or,  better,  carbolate  of  sodium  be  treated  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  the  following  equation  would  probably  represent 
the  decomposition: — - 
NaC7H503+NaC6H50  +  2HC1= 
C6H5C7H503 + 2NaCl + H20. 
Chemically  speaking,  salol  is  salicylate  of  phenyl.  The  possibility 
that  it  is  phenylsalicylic  acid,  of  which  the  formula  would  be  HC7H4 
(C6H5)03,  is  contra-indicated  by  its  indifference  to  litmus,  though  the 
latter  view  receives  support  from  the  slow  rate  at  which  the  compound 
is  decomposed  by  soda,  as  well  as  from  the  observation  that  after  the 
decomposition  is  effected  the  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid,  under  or- 
dinary conditions,  is  not  followed  by  the  re-formation  of  the  original 
compound.  I  am  aware  that  the  latter  fact  apparently  disposes  of  the 
suggestion  just  made  as  to  the  manufacture  of  salol,  but  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  effects  of  high  temperature  and  pressure  on 
two  bodies  set  free  in  presence  of  each  other  cannot  be  disregarded. 
Salicylate  of  phenyl  contains  36  per  cent,  of  phenyl,  corresponding 
to  44  per  cent,  of  carbolic  acid.    Sahli  says  that  salol  contains  not 
