Chemistry of Essential Oils

118 THE CHBMISTEY OF ESSENTIAL OILS

appears to consist entirely, or nearly entirely, of sesquiterpenes and

terpenes. The principal sesquiterpene present has a specific gravity

0-919 and optical rotation - 10-8°. It boils at 256° to 258° and forma

a solid hydrochloride.

Indian Hemp Oil is obtained by subjecting the flowering twigs of

Cannabis Indica to steam distillation. According to Valenta the re-

sulting oil is of thin consistency, and possesses an agreeable aromatic

odour. It boils between 248° and 268°. Its specific gravity is about

•930, and optical rotation - 10°, and it appears to consist chiefly, of a

sesquiterpene, which has been named cannibene.

Vignolo obtained an oil by distilling the female flowering plant, of

similar boiling-point, and of optical rotation — 18°. Wood, Spivey, and

Easterfield * isolated from the resinous extract an oil of the formula

C1 8 H 24 O 2 , which is resinous at ordinary temperatures, and boils at 265°.

Its specific gravity is 1*0424 at 18°. It has been termed cannabinol..

They also found a slightly laevo-rotatory terpene (?), of specific gravity

0-819 and boiling at 160° to 180°. They found that the sesquiterpene

boiled at 258° to 259° and had a specific gravity 0-898 at 18° and optical

rotation - 8'6°. This body (cannibene) was also isolated by Vignolo,^2

who found its characters to be practically identical with those described

by Wood, Spivey, and Easterfield.

A substance of the formula C 21 H 29 0. OH has been described by

Frenkel and Czerkis^3 under the name of cannabinol, but does not appear

to be the same body as that described above under the same name.

JUGLANDACEjC.

WALNUT-LEAF OIL.

The essential oil of the leaves of Juglans regia has been examined
by Schimmel & Co.4 Two samples were distilled, one at Miltitz, and
the other at Bar-r&me. The distillates were of an olive-brown colour
and possessed the characteristic odour of walnut leaves. At about 10°
they formed semi-solid, butter-like masses, which melted at about 20°.
From the solutions in 90 per cent, alcohol large quantities of paraffin
separated out, which after repeated recrystallisation from alcohol had
a melting-point 61° to 62°. The constants of the oil are shown in the
table below :•—

Distilled at

Miltitz.

Barr6me

83 p. cent

17

100 „

• • •

Principal Oil

Water Oil.

Total Oil.

Yield.

Per Cent.

0-014

0-0072

0-0015

0-0087

0-9137

0-9174

0-9231

0-9185

+ 0°

- 17°

- 16°

- 17°

36'

12'

0'

1-49657

1-49177

1-49366

1-49215

Acid

v.

9-3

3'7

4-7

—

Ester

v.

27-0

9-3

9-7

—

Ester v.

after

Acet

98-5

(^1) Jour. Chem. Soc. (18%), 543.
*Annalen, 351 (1907), 467.
3
Gazzetta (1895), HO.
^Report, April, 1912, 181.