534      Study  of  Organic  Chemistry  by  Pharmacists.  { AlnNJ00vu,r•I879?r^,' 
repeated  experiments  he  devised  a  method,  and  was  enabled  to  deter* 
mine  exactly  the  percentage  of  vanillin  in  any  sample  of  the  beans. 
In  the  application  of  her  synthetical  methods  modern  organic  chem- 
istry has  also  done  the  greatest  service  to  pharmacy.  Substances  which 
are  found  in  sparing  amount  in  nature,  but  which  are  valuable  as  medi- 
cinal remedies,  have  been  investigated,  and  so  soon  as  their  exact 
chemical  nature  was  understood  organic  chemistry  has  undertaken  the 
task  of  producing  them  artificially  from  other  more  accessible  materials, 
and,  in  many  cases,  with  the  most  gratifying  success.  The  price  of  a 
valuable  chemical  preparation  has  thus  been  reduced  often  a  hundred- 
fold, and  its  use  correspondingly  widened.  From  the  long  list  of  organic 
syntheses  I  may  be  allowed  to  select  a  few  examples  of  substances  of 
practical  application  in  pharmacy. 
Thus,  all  the  fatty  acids  can  be  made  at  present  artificially.  Instead 
of  being  dependent  upon  the  valerian-root  or  dolphin  oil  for  valerianic 
acid  and  valerianates,  it  is  prepared  by  the  oxydation  of  amyl-alcohok. 
Lactic  and  succinic  acids  are  both  made  synthetically,  and  their  salts- 
are  correspondingly  more  available  for  general  use. 
The  oil  of  mustard  is  now  made  synthetically  from  allyl-iodide  {&> 
derivative  of  glycerin)  and  potassium  sulphocyanate.  Closely  related 
to  this  chemically  is  oil  of  horseradish  root,  which  was  proved  by  Hof- 
mann  to  be  essentially  butyl-sulphocyanate,  and  of  course  can  be  pre- 
pared synthetically. 
Oil  of  Spiraea  ulmaria  is  mainly  salicylic  aldehyde,  and  can  be  made- 
by  oxydizing  salicin. 
Oil  of  cinnamon  was  proved  by  Strecker  to  consist  chiefly  of  cin- 
namic  aldehyde,  and  is  made  artificially  from  storax  balsam. 
Oil  of  rue  was  shown  by  Gorup-Besanez  to  be  methyl-nonyl  ketone,, 
a  compound  readily  built  up  from  its  constituents. 
Vanillin,  the  flavoring  substance  of  the  vanilla  bean,  has  been  made 
artificially  from  coniferin,  a  glucoside  contained  in  the  sap  of  pine-treesy 
from  oil  of  cloves,  from  resin  of  guaiacum,  and  lastly  from  carbolic  acid 
itself. 
Coumarin,  the  active  substance  in  tonka  beans,  has  been  made  arti- 
ficially from  acetic  acid  and  salicylic  aldehyde. 
Salicylic  acid  is  now  made  commercially  under  Kolbe's  patent  from 
carbolic  acid. 
Benzoic  acid  can  be  gotten  from  gum  benzoin  or  made  from  phtalic 
