LAUBACE^E 169
An oil reported on by Keimazu l is described as having a specific
gravity 0
- 9279, and optical rotation + 17°, but this appears to have been
mixed with camphor oil, so that his researches as to the constituents
present must be accepted with reserve. The principal body present in
the oil is the alcohol linalol (Keimazu found formaldehyde, d-a-pinene,
•cineol, dipentene, apopinol (impure linalol ?), camphor, eugenol, and
•safrol).
OIL OF GUIANA SANDAL-WOOD.
The wood of a tree growing in French Guiana, and known there as
•sandal-wood, yields an oil which has been investigated by Jeancard and
Satie.
2
The tree is, in all probability, one of the Lauracea, but its
botanical relationships are unsettled. -
By steam distillation the wood yields oils very variable in character,
as will be seen from the following tables :—
Specific Gravity at 15° C.
Rotatory Power .....
Solubility {80 per Cent. Alcohol..
Saponification Value ....
,, ,, after Acetylation.Sample0-9630
- 2° 10'
1-1
10
58-8
114-1
Sample
B.1-0122
- 0°30'
0-8
1-6
14-7
72-1
General
Limits.0-963 to 1-0122
+ 0° 30' to - 6°
0-8 „ 1-1
1-5 „ 12
13 „ 65
65 „ 117On fractionation in vacuo the following results were obtained :—Below 155° C. at 20 mm
155° to 160° C
Above 160°A.
27*4 per cent.
59
13-6B.
18 per cent.
80
2The 155 to 160° fraction has the following constants :—Specific Gravity at 26°
Rotatory Power
Solubility in 70 per Cent. AlcoholA.
1-024
- 4° 20'
1-8
B.
1-037
- 6°
1-8
The oils appear to contain a common constituent in varying pro-
portion, which would explain the observed variations. To render this
more evident, the authors classified a large parcel of the wood into
three portions as follows :—
Wood No. I. consisting of branches.
Wood No. II. consisting of trunks split into two or three pieces
according to length.
Wood No. III. consisting of logs from which the bark had been
removed, and having the appearance of Indian sandal-wood.
1
Jour. Pharm. Soc. Japan (1903), 253 and 258.
2
P. and E.O.R. (1911), 79.