1106
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
Nitrogen.
Amygdalin.
Atoms.
Eq. Wt.
Per cent'
40 .
. 240 .
. 52-516
27 .
. 27 .
5-908
1 .
. 14 .
. 3-064
92 .
. 176 .
. 38-513
.
1 .
. 4.57 .
. 100 000
sts of, 1 atom of Amygdalin
= 457, and 6 a 10 ®*
of
Water = 54. ... , tillat**’
4. Volatile or Essential Oil of Bitter Almonds (Oleum Amygdala amara desn s .Essentia Amygdala ).—Obtained by submitting bitter almond cake (left after tne^ j nor esion of the fixed oil from bitter almonds) to distillation with water, either alone, ^ e( j theusually with salt. To increase the quantity of volatile oil, Geiger recommencake to be macerated in the water for twenty-four hours before distillation, olatil®
The theory of this process is curious. Chemists formerly supposed that the #||( Joil resided in the bitter almond, and that by distillation it was merely volatilise 'jpgsubsequently condensed. But in opposition to this view may be urged the tofacts:— ...
■l u nres sll^e,
1. Neither bitter almonds, nor their residuary cake, yield any volatile oil by r t he
yet we know that the volatile oil is soluble in the fixed oil, and, therefore, "', ^erlatter was expressed it ought to contain traces of the volatile oil, if this existed Walmonds. ., 0 ;l is
2. They yield no oil when digested in alcohol or in ether, though the volati
soluble in both of these liquids. n th e
3. Alcohol extracts from bitter almond cake, sugar, resin, and amygdalin. . j!. , tb e
latter substance has been removed, the cake is no longer capable of furnisn nvolatile oil by distillation. &
4. Ether extracts no amygdalin from bitter almond cake; and the cake ie
digestion in ether, yields the volatile oil by distillation with water. t
These facts, then, prove that the volatile oil does not reside in the bitter alffl° nis formed by the action of water on some of the constituents of these sej,v n< r tb ewhen bitter almonds are deprived of amygdalin, they are incapable of y ,el ^
volatile oil: so that it is this principle which enables them to yield it. g
rlalin with wafpr nnlv. nrnrinpps Tin nil • hpnpp thp nrpspiipp nf cnmp other sudsw ,
is
otK
8*®
dalin, with water only, produces no oil: hence the presence of some other - . (
necessary. Wohler and Liebig (Joum de Pharm. xxiii.) have shown thatsubstance is emulsin, and that, by the mutual reaction of amygdalin, emu ’ nt jtwater, we obtain the volatile oil of bitter almonds and hydrocyanic acid- a „d
appears that sugar, and some other substance (probably a compound of formic allaltered emulsin) are simultaneously developed. These ingredients are, pr° jiia*yielded by the amygdalin, the operation of emulsin on which must, therefore, (a [,lelogous to that of yeast on sugar and water. It will be seen by the folio"’j^dro*(drawn up by Wohler and Liebig ), that amygdalin contains the elerrfents ocyanic acid, volatile oil of bitter almonds, sugar, formic acid, and water■
Atoms of
1 atom of Hydrocyanic acid....
^Carbon
.... 2
Hydrogen
1
Nitrogen
1
2 atoms Volatile Oil of Bitter AlmUs- 28
12
0
1 atom of Sugar.. ...
.... 6
5
0
2 atoms of Formic acid.
.... 4
2
0
7 atoms of Water ..
7
0
1 atom of Amygdalin.
27
1
22
The essential oil of bitter almonds of the shops possesses the following P 1 ^ reiideV. 1It is highly poisonous, has a golden-yellow colour (by rectification it md JL V A r ocy A,})Ctemporarily colourless), an agreeable odour (usually compared to that ot Jy taste-acid, but which, in fact, bears but little resemblance to it), and an acrid, >> ^. rC atefIt is combustible, and burns with a white flame. Its sp. gr., though jjjgS be el Jthan that of water, probably varies somewhat. I find that a sample, . lC ! cu hul al1 ®prepared for about eight months, had the sp. gr. 10836. It is soluble in a
d