Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  1901.  j 
Adulterations  of  Essential  Oils. 
3 
oils  "looted  oils."  By  such  tactics  a  double  profit  is  made  by 
the  manipulator.  The  consumer  in  these  cases  makes  two  pur- 
chases where  he  should  make  but  one  and  save  money  by  so  doing ; 
as  for  instance,  he  buys  eucalyptol  and  a  cheap  oil  of  eucalyptus ; 
then,  in  order  to  make  the  oil  answer  the  proper  requirements,  it  is 
necessary  for  him  to  use  the  eucalyptol  to  strengthen  his  inferior 
oil  of  eucalyptus. 
Another  matter  not  generally  known  is  that  certain  manufactur- 
ers claim  that  some  absolutely  pure  oils  need  to  be  modified  so  as  to 
conform  to  some  arbitrary  standard ;  for  example,  one  very  promi- 
nent and  reliable  house  lists  oil  of  pimento  at  $2. 10  per  pound,  but  oil 
of  pimento  said  to  be  made  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  U.S. P. 
is  offered  at  $1.60.  The  same  criticism  is  applied  to  the  U.S. P. 
requirements  for  oils  of  bay  and  coriander. 
Among  the  favorite  articles  used  as  adulterants,  and  to  be  looked 
for,  are  cheaper  essential  oils  (turpentine,  copaiba,  cedarwood  and 
gurjun  balsam),  alcohol  and  fixed  and  mineral  oils. 
PRELIMINARY  TESTS. 
(1)  Physical  appearance. 
(2)  A  common  method  and  a  very  useful  one  is  that  of  exposing  a 
drop  or  two  of  the  oil  on  white  glazed  paper,  and  from  time  to  time 
observing  the  odor.  By  this  means  alone,  in  many  cases,  a  cheap 
oil  can  be  detected,  especially  turpentine.  Lemon  and  orange  re- 
quire from  twelve  to  fifteen  minutes ;  bergamot,  two  to  four  hours ; 
lavender,  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  ;  cloves,  twenty-five  hours ;  and 
sandal  wood,  two  days,  for  comparison.  Fixed  oils  leave  a  perma- 
nent greasy  stain.  Results  by  the  above  procedure  give  only  indi- 
cations, which  must  be  verified  by  established  methods. 
Alcohol. — Several  tests  can  be  applied  to  give  indications  of  the 
presence  or  absence  of  alcohol.  Oils  free  from  alcohol  (acetone  or 
purified  wood  alcohol),  when  dropped  into  water,  remain  transpar- 
ent, but  the  presence  of  alcohol  causes  the  globules  to  become 
opaque  or  milky.  When  a  considerable  amount  is  present,  it  may 
be  approximately  estimated  by  placing  a  given  volume  of  the  oil 
into  a  graduated  cylinder,  adding  an  equal  volume  of  water,  agitat- 
ing well,  and  then  -setting  aside  until  complete  separation  results. 
If  there  is  any  appreciable  diminution  in  the  volume  of  oil,  alcohol 
(acetone,  acetic  ether  or  purified  wood  alcohol)  is  present.  The 
