Oil of Vale′′rian. Syn. Oleum valerianæ (Ph. Bor.), L. From the root of Valeriana officinalis (Linn.), or wild valerian. Yellowish; viscid; lighter than water; smells strongly of the plant. By exposure to the air it is partly converted into valerianic acid, and more readily so under the influence of an alkali. In its usual form it consists of valerol, a neutral oily body; borneene, a volatile liquid hydrocarbon; and valerianic acid. It is powerfully antispasmodic, emmenagogue, tonic, and stimulant, and, in large doses, narcotic.—Dose, 2 to 6 drops; in epilepsy, hysteria, hemicrania, hypochondriasis, low fevers, &c. Prod. 11⁄4% to 2% (nearly).
Oil of Ver′bena. Syn. Oleum verbenæ, L. From the fresh flowering herb of Verbena odorata. Prod. 2% to 5%. The ‘OIL OF VERBENA’ of the shops is imported from India, and is obtained from Andropogon citratum. See Oil of Lemon grass.
Oil of Wine. Syn. Heavy oil of wine,
Ethereal oil, Oily ethereal liquor, Sulphate of ether and etherole; Oleum æthereum (Ph. L.), Oleum vini, Liquor æthereus oleosus, L. This is an artificial production which, for convenience, may be included under this head.
1. (Ph. L.) Rectified spirit, 2 pints, and sulphuric acid, 36 fl. oz., are cautiously mixed together in a glass retort, and submitted to distillation until a black froth appears, when the retort is immediately removed from the fire (sand heat); the lighter, supernatant, liquor is next separated from the fluid in the receiver, and exposed to the air for 24 hours; it is then agitated with a mixture of solution of potassa and water, of each 1 fl. oz., or q. s., and, when, sufficiently washed, is, lastly, separated from the aqueous liquid from which it has subsided. The formula of the Ph. L. 1836 is nearly similar.
2. (Ph. D.) Rectified spirit and oil of vitriol (commercial), of each 11⁄2 pint; as the last, employing a Liebig’s condenser, and a capsule for the exposure to the air; the oil is then transferred to a moistened paper filter, and washed with a little cold water, to remove any adhering acid.
3. (Ph. D. 1826.) From the residuum in the retort after the process of preparing ether, distilled to one half, by a moderate heat, and the oil treated as before.
4. From rectified spirit (sp. gr. ·833), 2 parts; oil of vitriol, 5 parts; mix and distil, as before; wash the product with distilled water, and free it from adhering water and undecomposed alcohol by exposure in the vacuum of an air-pump, between two open capsules, the one containing fragments of solid potassa, and the other concentrated sulphuric acid. Pure.
5. By distilling a mixture of ether and oil of vitriol, and treating the product as before.
6. By the destructive distillation of dry sulphovinate of calcium; the product is freed from alcohol, &c., by washing it. This process yields the largest product.