566       Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {^yemberTiloL1' 
of  meat  extracts  and  comes  to  the  already  generally  accepted  con- 
clusion that  the  aibumoses,  peptones  and  albumins  are  present  in 
too  small  quantities  to  serve  of  any  value  as  foods.  The  small 
quantity  usually  taken  can  have  nothing  more  than  a  stimulating 
effect.  L.  F.  K. 
PHENYLETHYL  ALCOHOL  IN  ROSE  OIL. 
It  has  been  the  common  experience  of  all  investigators  of  steam 
distilled  rose  oil  to  find  that  it  contained  only  a  small  percentage  of 
phenylethyl  alcohol  as  compared  with  the  large  percentage  con- 
tained in  extracted  oils.  (The  steam  oil  is  made  from  the  fresh 
leaves,  the  extracted  oil  usually  from  dried  leaves,  L.  F.  K.)  Wal- 
baium  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  alcohol  was  not  developed 
until  the  rose  petals  were  dry.  H.  von  Soden  and  W.  Rojahn,  Ber. 
33,  3063,  show  that  the  phenylethyl  alcohol  zs  quite  soluble  in  the 
aqueous  distillate  and  in  this  way  is  generally  lost.  It  can  be  ex- 
tracted from  the  distilled  vater  by  shaking  out  with  ether.  These 
workers  examined  rose  pomade  made  by  the  method  of  Hesse  and 
Miiller,  Ber.  iSgg,j2,  565  ;  abstr.  in  Jour.  Soc.  Chem.  Ind.,  18,  1899, 
396)  viz.,  macerating  fresh  rose  leaves  with  warm  fat,  this  pomade 
contained  0-56  per  cent,  of  volatile  oil;  46-5  per  cent,  of  which 
was  phenylethyl  alcohol.  "  Rose  Pure''  a  brownish  yellow  viscous 
oil,  obtained  by  extracting  the  petals  with  a  volatile  solvent,  was 
distilled  with  steam  and  the  volatile  oil  thus  obtained  was  found  to 
contain  25  per  cent,  of  phenylethyl  alcohol.  This  investigation 
clearly  shows  that  phenylethyl  alcohol  is  a  normal  constituent  of 
fresh  rose  leaves,  being  formerly  lost  in  the  aqueous  distillate.  See 
also  this  Journal,  1901,  page  199.  L.  F.  K. 
OXIDATION    OF    ALOIN,  BY    MEANS    OF    POTASSIUM    PERSULPHATE  AND 
CARO'S  ACID. 
E.  Seel  (Ber.  33,  3212)  found  that  the  action  of  potassium  persul- 
phate on  aloin  from  Barbadoes  aloes  produced  different  oxidation 
products,  according  to  the  quantity  of  reagent.  An  excess  yields 
a  pale-red  compound,  apparently  an  unstable  oxygen  addition  pro- 
duct, in  almost  quantitative  proportions.  The  same  product  is 
obtained  by  electrolytically  oxidizing  aloin  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid 
or  by  means  of  potassium  percarbonate.  Caro's  reagent,  sulphuric 
acid  and  potassium  persulphate  {ZtscJi.  augew.  Chem.,  1898,  845  ); 
