Chemistry of Essential Oils

(Tuis.) #1

LABIATE 263


Specific gravity
Refractive index.
Optical rotation
Ester value.
Thymol

0*9154


1-4996


+ 1°


4-5


50 per cent.
He identified phellandrene, ^-cymene, y-terpinene, caryophyllene,
cadinene, and probably sabinene in the oil.
Mosla punctata yields about 1 per cent, of oil, calculated on the air-
dried herb, of a fragrant odour, having the following characters:—
Specific gravity.
Optical rotation
Ester value
„ „ (after acetylation)

0-8966 at 16°
-9°
16
36-4
It does not contain any phenols, but owes its odour to a ketone, which
has been named a-mujone. It also contains a sesquiterpene, not yet
identified, having a specific gravity 0*9259, optical rotation + 2*16°, and
refractive index 1-51615.
The herb, Mosla grosserata, yields an oil which appears to be very
variable in character. It is known in Japan as oil of Himeshiso. The
fresh herb, according to Furukawa and Tomizawa,
1
yields 0'24 per cent,
of an oil containing 25 per cent, of carvacrol, some thymoquinone and
some thymohydroquinone. It also contains ^-cymene, phellandrene,
and terpinene. Murayama, however, has examined four samples,
three from wild and one from cultivated plants.^2 These oils had the
following characters:—

Specific gravity
Optical rotation
Saponification value
„ ,, (after acetylation)
Phenols

1


0-998


-3-75


33


66-6


20 per

Wild

1


cent.

Plants.

2.


0*954


-3-2°


23


54-5



3


1-0488


- 11-75°


Cultivated
Plants.

4.
0 9006
-4-5°
37
49-2
13 per cent.

In the oils from the wild plants the following constituents were
identified: thymol, methyl-eugenol, _p-cymol, thymohydroquinone,
myristicin, a terpene and a sesquiterpene. Thymol, thymohydro-
quinone and a terpene were identified in the oil from the cultivated
plants.


OIL OF HYPTIS.

Hyptis suaveolens is found in South America, the Philippines, Java,
and China. Bacon
3
has obtained from it 0*0135 per cent, of essential
oil, having a powerful odour of peppermint. The oil distilled in Java
has the following characters :—
Optical rotation - 16° 18'
Acid value .......... 0



  • 7
    Ester „ 14
    „ , (after acetylation) 31'7


(^1) J. Chem. Ind. Tokyo (1919), 22, 382. *Pharm. Jour. Japan (1920), 459, 389.
(^3) Philipp. Jour. Sci., 4 (1909), 130.

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