Essential Oils.
As already stated, these are very liable to adulteration, and an examination of all kinds of oil is desirable, while in the case of the more expensive varieties it should never be omitted.
Specific Gravity.—As with fats and oils, this is usually taken at 15° C., and compared with water at the same temperature. In the case of otto of rose and guaiac wood oil, however, which are solid at this temperature, it is generally observed at 30° C. compared with water at 15° C.
The specific gravity is preferably taken in a bottle or U-tube, but if sufficient of the oil is available and a high degree of accuracy is not necessary, it may be taken either with a Westphal balance, or by means of a hydrometer.
Optical Rotation.—For this purpose a special instrument, known as a polarimeter, is required, details of the construction and use of which would be out of place here. Suffice it to mention that temperature plays an important part in the determination of the optical activity of certain essential oils, notably in the case of lemon and orange oils. For these Gildemeister and Hoffmann give the following corrections:—
Lemon oil, below 20° C. subtract 9' for each degree below, above 20° C. add 8' for each degree above.
Orange oil, below 20° C. subtract 14' for each degree below, above 20° C. add 13' for each degree above.
Refractive Index.—This figure is occasionally useful, and is best determined with an Abbé refractometer, at 20° C.
Solubility in Alcohol.—This is found by running alcohol of the requisite strength from a burette into a measured volume of the oil with constant agitation, until the oil forms a clear solution with the alcohol. Having noted the quantity of alcohol added, it is well to run in a small further quantity of alcohol, and observe whether any opalescence or cloudiness appears.
Acid, ester, and saponification values are determined exactly as described under fats and oils. Instead of expressing the result as saponification value or number, the percentage of ester, calculated in the form of the most important ester present, may be obtained by multiplying the number of c.c. of N/1 alkali absorbed in the saponification by the molecular weight of the ester. Thus, to find the percentage as linalyl acetate, the number of c.c. absorbed would be multiplied by 0.196 and by 100, and divided by the weight of oil taken.
Alcohols.—For the estimation of these, if the oil contains much ester it must first be saponified with alcoholic potash, to liberate the combined alcohols, and after neutralising the excess of alkali with acid, the oil is washed into a separating funnel with water, separated, dried with anhydrous sodium sulphate, and is then ready for the alcohol determination.
If there is only a small quantity of ester present, this preliminary saponification is unnecessary.
The alcohols are estimated by conversion into their acetic esters, which are then saponified with standard alcoholic potash, thereby furnishing a measure of the amount of alcohol esterified.
Ten c.c. of the oil is placed in a flask with an equal volume of acetic anhydride, and 2 grammes of anhydrous sodium acetate, and gently boiled for an hour to an hour and a half. After cooling, water is added, and the contents of the flask heated on the water-bath for fifteen to thirty minutes, after which they are cooled, transferred to a separating funnel, and washed with a brine solution until the washings cease to give an acid reaction with litmus paper. The oil is now dried with anhydrous sodium sulphate, filtered, and 1-2 grammes weighed into a flask and saponified with alcoholic potash as in the determination of ester or saponification value.
The calculation is a little complicated, but an example may perhaps serve to make it clear.
A geranium oil containing 26.9 per cent. of ester, calculated as geranyl tiglate, was acetylated, after saponification, to liberate the combined geraniol, and 2.3825 grammes of the acetylated oil required 9.1 c.c. of N/1 alkali for its saponification.
Now every 196 grammes of geranyl acetate present in the acetylated oil correspond to 154 grammes of geraniol, so that for every 196 grammes of ester now present in the oil, 42 grammes have been added to its weight, and it is therefore necessary to make a deduction from the weight of oil taken for the final saponification to allow for this, and since each c.c. of N/1 alkali absorbed corresponds to 0.196 gramme of geranyl acetate, the amount to be deducted is found by multiplying the number of c.c. absorbed by 0.042 gramme, the formula for the estimation of total alcohols thus becoming in the example given:—
| 9.1 × 0.154 × 100 | ||||
| Per cent. of geraniol | = | ———————— | = | 70.2 |
| 2.3825 - (9.1 × 0.042) |
The percentage of combined alcohols can be calculated from the amount of ester found, and by subtracting this from the percentage of total alcohols, that of the free alcohols is obtained.
In the example quoted, the ester corresponds to 17.6 per cent. geraniol, and this, deducted from the total alcohols, gives 52.6 per cent. free alcohols, calculated as geraniol.
This process gives accurate results with geraniol, borneol, and menthol, but with linalol and terpineol the figures obtained are only comparative, a considerable quantity of these alcohols being decomposed during the acetylation. The aldehyde citronellal is converted by acetic anhydride into isopulegol acetate, so that this is also included in the determination of graniol in citronella oil.
Phenols.—These bodies are soluble in alkalies, and may be estimated by measuring 5 c.c. or 10 c.c. of the oil into a Hirschsohn flask (a flask of about 100 c.c. capacity with a long narrow neck holding 10 c.c., graduated in tenths of a c.c.), adding 25 c.c. of a 5 per cent. aqueous caustic potash solution, and warming in the water-bath, then adding another 25 c.c., and after one hour in the water-bath filling the flask with the potash solution until the unabsorbed oil rises into the neck of the flask, the volume of this oil being read off when it has cooled down to the temperature of the laboratory. From the volume of oil dissolved the percentage of phenols is readily calculated.
Aldehydes.—In the estimation of these substances, use is made of their property of combining with sodium bisulphite to form compounds soluble in hot water. From 5-10 c.c. of the oil is measured into a Hirschsohn flask, about 30 c.c. of a hot saturated solution of sodium bisulphite added, and the flask immersed in a boiling water bath, and thoroughly shaken at frequent intervals. Further quantities of the bisulphite solution are gradually added, until, after about one hour, the unabsorbed oil rises into the neck of the flask, where, after cooling, its volume is read off, and the percentage of absorbed oil, or aldehydes, calculated.
In the case of lemon oil, where the proportion of aldehydes, though of great importance, is relatively very small, it is necessary to first concentrate the aldehydes before determining them. For this purpose, 100 c.c. of the oil is placed in a Ladenburg fractional distillation flask, and 90 c.c. distilled off under a pressure of not more than 40 mm., and the residue steam distilled. The oil so obtained is separated from the condensed water, measured, dried, and 5 c.c. assayed for aldehydes either by the process already described, or by the following process devised by Burgess (Analyst, 1904, 78):—
Five c.c. of the oil are placed in the Hirschsohn flask, about 20 c.c. of a saturated solution of neutral sodium sulphite added, together with a few drops of rosolic acid solution as indicator, and the flask placed in a boiling water-bath and continually agitated. The contents of the flask soon become red owing to the liberation of free alkali by the combination of the aldehyde with part of the sodium sulphite, and this coloration is just discharged by the addition of sufficient 10 per cent. acetic-acid solution. The flask is again placed in the water-bath, the shaking continued, and any further alkali liberated neutralised by more acetic acid, the process being continued in this way until no further red colour is produced. The flask is then filled with the sodium sulphite solution, the volume of the cooled unabsorbed oil read off, and the percentage of aldehydes calculated as before.
Solidifying Point, or Congealing Point.—This is of some importance in the examination of anise and fennel oils, and is also useful in the examination of otto of rose. A suitable apparatus may be made by obtaining three test tubes, of different sizes, which will fit one inside the other, and fixing them together in this way through corks. The innermost tube is then filled with the oil, and a sensitive thermometer, similar to that described under the Titre test for fats, suspended with its bulb completely immersed in the oil. With anise and fennel, the oil is cooled down with constant stirring until it just starts crystallising, when the stirring is interrupted, and the maximum temperature to which the mercury rises noted. This is the solidifying point.
In the case of otto of rose, the otto is continually stirred, and the point at which the first crystal is observed is usually regarded as the congealing point.
Melting Point.—This is best determined by melting some of the solid oil, or crystals, and sucking a small quantity up into a capillary tube, which is then attached by a rubber band to the bulb of the thermometer, immersed in a suitable bath (water, glycerine, oil, etc.) and the temperature of the bath gradually raised until the substance in the tube is sufficiently melted to rise to the surface, the temperature at which this takes place being the melting point.
The melting point of otto of rose is usually taken in a similar tube to the setting point, and is considered to be the point at which the last crystal disappears.
Iodine Absorption.—In the authors' opinion, this is of some value in conjunction with other data in judging of the purity of otto of rose. It is determined by Hübl's process as described under Fats and Oils, except that only 0.1 to 0.2 gramme is taken, and instead of 10 c.c. of chloroform, 10 c.c. of pure alcohol are added. The rest of the process is identical.