UMBELLIFEK^S 323
which it was cooled, and 5 grms. of NaOH, dissolved in a little water,
was added in the same way. The flask was then disconnected and the
contents transferred to a platinum dish and evaporated to dryness and
ignited. The residue was dissolved in water, hydrochloric acid added,
and the liquid evaporated to drive off nitrous and nitric acids, and the
sulphate determined in the usual way. A blank determination must,
of course, be made with all the materials.
It will be observed that high percentage of sulphur in the oil goes
with high specific gravity, high refractive index, and laevo-rotation.
OIL OF GALBANUM.
Galbanum Oil is the product of distillation of the gum-resin Pence-
danum galbaniflorum and probably other species indigenous to Persia.
From 12 to 24 per cent, of oil is obtained, which has a penetrating
odour and sharp taste.
Galbanum oil has the following characters:—
Specific gravity 0-905 to 0'955
Optical rotation - 10° „ + 20°
Befractive index 1-4840 „ 1-4863
a-Pinene and cadinene have long been recognised as constituents of
;the oil. Semmler and Jonasx have recently examined an oil having the
following characters:—
Specific gravity 0-9353 at 25
°
Optical rotation +8°
Eefractive index 1-4939 at 25°
They detected a-pinene, /?-pinene, myrcene, a sesquiterpene which
is either cadinene, or is easily converted into cadinene hydrochloride,
and a sesquiterpene alcohol, cadinol, of the formula C 15 H 26 O. Cadinol
forms a hydrochloride melting at 117° to 118°.
OILS OF HEKACLEUM.
The ordinary heracleum oil is distilled from the fruit of Heradeum
spkondylium, the cow parsnip. The yield is from 0*5 to 3 per cent, of
an oil having the following characters :—
Specific gravity 0-865 to 0'880
Optical rotation T 0°,, 4- „ + 2°
Befractive index 1-4260 „ 1-4330
Acid value 4 „ 16
Ester „ 214 „ 276
According to Zincke,
2
it contains octyl alcohol C 8 H 17 OH and its
acetic ester C 10 H0 2 and caproic ester C 14 H 28 O 2. According to Mos-
linger,^3 ethyl butyrate is also present; and also the lauric acid ester of
octyl alcohol, and some hexyl compounds in very small quantities.
The oil of Heracleum giganteum has been examined by Gutzeit, and
found to correspond closely with that just described. Schimmel &
Co. give the following interesting details of this oil:—
It is now well known that this oil is obtained from the fruit or the
entire umbellate heads of Heracleum sphondylium L. A distillate
which we have obtained from the dry umbels from which the fruit had
been removed is for this reason interesting. The yield of oil amounted(^1) Berichte, 47 (1914), 2068. zAnnalen, 152 (1869), 1.
*Berichte, 9(1876), 998.