Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1921. 
Pelargonium  Oil. 
385 
ALTERATIONS  OF  THE  CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  OIL  THROUGH 
CHANGE  OF  WEATHER. 
Charabot  (Bull.  Soc.  chem.,  ser.  3,  XXIII,  1900,  pp.  922-928^ 
examined  t<vo  oils,  which  had  been  produced  on  July  18th  and  Au- 
gust 2 1  st.  The  examination  showed  that  specific  gravity,  polariza- 
tion and  contents  of  esters  showed  an,  increase,  the  contents  of  free 
acids  and  free  alcohols,  however,  a  decrease.  The  total  contents  of 
alcoholic  components,  however,  was',  greater  in  the  latter  case.  The 
quantity  of  citronellol  seemed,  according'  to  Charabot,  to  be  greater 
in  proportion  to  geraniol.  According  to  Jeancard  and  Satie  (Bull. 
Soc.  chim.,  ser.  3,  XXXI,  1904,  pp.  43-49),  cold  nights  reduce  the' 
contents  of  alcohol.  This  decrease  is,  however,  not  the  result  of  an 
intensive  production  of  esters,  but  only  to  a  decrease  of  oil.  The 
contents  of  geraniol  becomes  smaller,  that  of  citronellol  increases  in 
proportion  to  geraniol.  While  in  many  other  oils,  such  as  the  neroli- 
and  the  petitgr'ain-oil  the  decrease  of  free  alcohols  is  compensated 
by  a  greater  production  of  esters,  here  the  loss  touches  only  the 
geraniol,  whereas  the  citronellol  increases  slightly. 
FALSIFICATION  OF  PELARGONIUM-OIL  BY  MODERATE!  CHEMICAL  DRUGS. 
In  most  cases  they  can  be  recognized  by  the  odor ;  but  often  they 
imitate  well  the  weight  of  the  oil.  In  literature  there  are  found 
accounts  of  falsification  by  means  of  the  following  substances : 
Dimethylsulphide  (Schimmel,  Ber.,  1909,  I,  p.  50)  ;  Aethylox- 
alate  (P  erf  um.  Record,  191 1,  II,  p.  83)  ;  diphenylmethane  (Chara- 
bot and  Gatin,  Journ.  d'Agric.  trop.  XIII,  19 13,  p.  294)  ;  ester  of 
benzoic-acid  (Schimmel,  Ber.,  1905,  II,  p.  33)  ;  Aethylphthalate  up 
to  20  per  cent.  (Schimmel,  Ber.,1913,  I,  pp.  59-60)  ;  gurjunbalsam- 
oil,  the  oil  of  an  East-Indian  Dipterocarpus,  up  to  30  per  cent. 
(Schimmel,  Ber.,  1908,  I,  p.  53;  1911,  II,  p.  47)  ;  derivates  of  the 
lemon-oil  (Charabot  and  Gatin,  1.  c,  p.  294). 
-  LITERATURE. 
Barbier  et  Bouveault,  Sur  la  constitution  du  rhodinol  de  l'essence  . 
de  Pelargonium,  Comptes  rendus,  CXIX,  1894,  pp.  334-337. 
Barbier  et  Bouveault,  Sur  l'essence  de  Pelargonium  de  la  Reunion, 
Comptes  rendus,  CXIX,  1894,  pp.  281-284. 
Barbier  et  Bouveault,  Sur  le  geraniol  de  l'essence  d'Andropogon 
schoenanthus,  Comptes  rendus,  CXVIII,  1894,  pp.  1154-1157. 
