Chemistry of Essential Oils

38 THE CHEMISTKY OF ESSENTIAL OILS

Schimmel,
1
the amount of this ester present is about 40 per cent., and
there is in addition about 10 per cent, of the free alcohol in the oil.
There is also present a small amount of either an aldehyde or a ketone
boiling between 220° and 250°, yielding a hydrazone melting at 41° and
an oxime melting at 85°.
Schimmel & Co.^2 have found citronellol in this oil, and Elze^3 has
detected geraniol and dihydrocumic alcohol, and also traces of normal
decyl-aldehyde. 'nnRJ
Agnew and Croad^4 have examined this oil and have isolated \ the
terpene sabinene from it in a pure condition. Contrary to Semmler 5
and Wallach
6
these chemists found it to be present as the laevo-rotatory
variety, having a specific rotation -42*5°; the hydrocarbon isolatedu by
Semmler had an optical rotation + 63° and that of Wallach + 67'5°. nnR.
According to Agnew and Croad the characters of sabinol arenas
follows:—

Boiling-point.. 208° to 209°
Specific gravity.. 0-9391
Specific rotation.. + 17-04 (= + 16° observed for 100 mm.)
But according to Pastini and Eetora,^7 sabinol has the following char-
acters :—

Boiling-point 208°

Specific gravity 0-9518

Optical rotation + 7° 56'

Refractive index 1-4895'

Savin oil has the following characters:—

Specific gravity

Optical rotation

Refractive index

Acid value

Ester

(after acetylation)

0-907 to 0-930

+ 38° to + 63° (rarely to +

1-4720 to 1-4800

0,,3

105 „ 140

125 „ 155

From 25 to 30 per cent, distils under 175°. The oil is soluble in

5 to 15 volumes of 80 per cent, alcohol, but not always to a quite clear

solution.

According to Umney and Bennett,^8 the French so-called savin oil is

probably distilled from the leaves and twigs of Jimiperus phcenicea which

accounts for its difference from the German and English distillates.

This French oil has a specific gravity about 0*890; rotation + 4° 30';

esters 9

*

3 per cent.; total alcohols as sabinol 17*1.

About 64 per cent, of this oil distils below 165°, due to the presence

of a large amount of pinene. Cadinene and traces of an aldehyde were

also found in this oil, which has also been investigated by Eodie^9 who

found that it contained over 90 per cent, of terpenes, which consisted of

pinene, Z-camphene and phellandrene. Acetic and capronic acids were

identified as constituents of the esters. The oil from the leaves and^twigs

of Juniperus phanicea has the following characters, which will indicate

the effect of its addition to the true oil of savin:—

1

Report, October, 1895, 44.

^

3 Bericht, October, 1907, 80.

5 Chem. Zeit. , 34 (1910), 767.^4 Analyst, 1912, 295.

7 Bericht,^33 (1900), 1464. B Ibid.,^40 (1907), 587.

9 Ait. E. Acad. Lincei, 1916, 25, ii., 377.^8 Pharm. Jour.,^75 (1905), 827.

Butt. Soc. Chim., iii., 35 (1906), 922.