THE QUINQUINO.
1181
Wl °f° ur ’ k e t' vc en that of Tolu and soft liquidambar, but distinct from
Jbe white balsam of Peru (balsamum peruvianum album) of Martins1 ? °^ ler pharmacologists is said, by Guibourt {op. cit), to be the solidarn of liquidambar already described (p. 727).and Ul/1ERATI0N- —balsam of Peru is said to be subject to adulteration;as f ^ le tormuhe given by Gray ( Suppl. to the Pharm.) for making as wellj ° r reducing {i. e. adulterating) it, lend support to this opinion. Thee ma nd for the balsam being very little, the supply quite equal to oretl exceeding the demand, and the price being moderate, are circum-no a ' lc es which appear to remove all motive for adulteration, which I dothink is at present practised in this country. The characters to beC() ended to in judging of its genuineness are, the purity of its odour, its0 f1}plete solubility in, or miscibility with, alcohol (by which the absence*Ui * Xe ^ °b is shewn), and its undergoing no diminution of volume whens j with water (by which the absence of alcohol is proved). Acry ° fUs P urit y is, that 1000 parts of it should saturate 75 paits of pureIstallised carbonate of potash. (Th. Martius, Pharmakogn.)s ev ° 1 ip °sition. —Balsam of Peru has been elaborately investigated byl8op a ^ c b° m ists, and the results obtained are somewhat curious. In§ t , ft was examined by Lichtenberg ( Berlin . Jahrb. 1806, S. 22).it (J°urn. de Chim. Med■ i. 139), in 1825, published an analysis ofRichter {Pharm. Cent.-Blatt. fur 1838, S. 346), Plantamour {Ibid.Sg "''ft and fiir 1839, S. 601), and Fremy {Comptes-Rendus, 1838, Sec.
- No. 20, and Ann. de Chim. et Phys. t. lxx. p. 180) have since exa-G< i the nature of its constituents.
B,
bfou, 11 s b(jtitly soluble resin . 2 4
resin . 20'7
lit nz balsam of Peru [cinnameine] . .69'0
tiKi. U1< r [ cinnamonic ] acid . 6 4
C actlv e. J .. 0-6
a '*d moisture. 0'9
Stoltze’s Analysis.
hal
Fremy's Analysis.
1. An oily matter ( cinnameine ), fre-
quently containing in solutiona crystalline substance (meta-cinnameine j hydruret of cinna-myle ).
2. Cinnamonic acid.
3. One or more resins ( hydrates of
cinnamiine).
Balsam of Peru.
add i*^ Balsam of Peru. Cinnameine of Fremy.—If an alcoholic solution of potash
“U to »n nlnnliAli/t cwiltttiV.ii of holcont /if Paru a nnmnnniwl nf roeitl jiimI imtiivll
to an alcoholic solution of balsam of Peru , a compound of resin and potash°f potash) is precipitated, while cinnamate of potash and cinnameine are left
•s tr. . l0tl - On the addition of water the latter separates, and floats on the surface. It" c ‘ 1 1 ' ' Cinnameine is a reddish-brown, acrid,
, insoluble in water,the average of five
' ltJ °<Jrle C htphed by solution in petroleum
a 'i(l j tJ ,, S ’ °tly fluid, heavier than water, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water,t )( P e rim amma ^ e ' 7,s composition, according to Fremy, is (takin u^"’ever 611 *^’ car ^ on 79'0, hydrogen 6‘26, oxygen 14 - 74. His formula for it, which,
da„ ’ s ? arc ely accords with this statement, is C ;i '* H 2 ® 08. Caustic potash affects a^tvic analogous to saponification, and converts it into two equivalents of cm-
Hos ac ’^ (equal to C 38 H w O®) and a light oily fluid, which F’remy calls peruvm,trillin'; c ‘ n,l Position is, carbon 79-6, hydrogen 9 3, oxygen 11-1, or Cis II 12 O 2 . Ciuna-)er n , e . * re quently (but not invariably) contains in solution a crystalline substance,its f nr ™etacinnameine, whose composition is, carbon 8P9, hydrogen 60, oxygen 12 1;
2. /">•*■ being C18 H9 02, so that it is isomeric with hydret of cinnamyle.
• Um “ r, Me or Cinnamonic Acid .—This constituent has usually been mistaken forritiiV ? c i<b It is obviously formed in the balsam by the oxidation of the hydret otl ho S( . V. e - just as hydret of benzule is transformed into benzoic acid (see p. 1108). InStiver, . sam8 1,7 Peru which contain no metacinnameine, this principle has been enlnelye d into cinnamic acid.