Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 88

=Oil of Pennyroyal (American).= _Syn._ OLEUM HEDEOMae (Ph. U. S.), L. From _Hedeoma pulegioides_, as the last. Light yellow; closely resembles oil of pennyroyal, for which it pa.s.ses in the U. S. Sp. gr. 945 to 948.

=Oil of Pepper.= _Syn._ OIL OF BLACK P.; OLEUM PIPERIS, O. P. NIGRI, L.

From bruised black pepper (_Piper nigrum_). Colourless, turning yellow; odorous; pungent; not so hot as the spice. Sp. gr. 9932. _Prod._ 125% to 15%. White pepper (of commerce), 1% (barely).

=Oil of Pep'permint.= _Syn._ OLEUM MENTHae PIPERITae (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), O. ESSENTIALae M. PIPERITIDIS, L. From the fresh flowering herb of _Mentha piperita_, or garden peppermint. Nearly colourless, or at most a very pale greenish yellow; powerfully odorous; tastes pungent, at the same time imparting a sensation of coldness to the tongue and palate.

Boils at 365 Fahr. Sp. gr. 902 to 905. _Prod._ Fresh flowering herb, 25% to 4%; dried do., 1% to 125% (fully). In a warm dry season, 5 lbs.

of the fresh flowering herb yield 1 oz. of oil; in a wet and unfavorable one, 11 lb. yield barely the same quality.

_Pur._ The oil of commerce usually contains fully a third part of rectified spirit, and is also frequently adulterated with the oils of rosemary, spearmint, and turpentine. When pure--1. It is soluble in its own weight of rectified spirit.--2. Mixed with 1-4th its volume of nitric acid, a rich purple-red colour is developed.--3. Chromate of potash, in solution, turns it of a deep reddish-brown colour, and converts it into a soft coagulum, which a.s.sumes a flaky form when divided with a gla.s.s rod, whilst the solution of the salt loses its yellow colour or becomes greenish yellow.--4. With iodine it forms a h.o.m.ogeneous ma.s.s, without fulmination. If it explodes with iodine, it contains turpentine. The yellowish, resinous oil, sold under the name of 'American' or 'crude oil of peppermint,' consists chiefly of oil of turpentine, and on evaporation leaves a residuum of pine resin.

_Obs._ English oil of peppermint is the best, a fact clearly shown by its price in the market being so greatly above that of the imported oil. The oil distilled at Mitcham, in Surrey (Mitcham oil of peppermint), is the most esteemed. It has usually a very pale greenish colour, which is often imitated by steeping a leaf or two of green mint or parsley in the oil.

Old dark-coloured oils are commonly bleached by exposure to the light, to the destruction of a portion of their other properties.

According to a recent and valuable report upon those articles in the Paris Exhibition of 1878, more particularly interesting to the pharmacist, the chemical manufacturer, the perfumer, &c., which lately appeared in the 'Pharmaceutical Journal,' the above statement is open to question. Of late years it seems that a considerable industry has sprung up at Arzin in the Department du Nord, in France, where large quant.i.ties of libiate plants are cultivated, and subsequently submitted to distillation.

An acre of land generally yields every year from 3 to 4 tons of the peppermint plant; and from 500 parts of this, one part of essential oil is usually obtained, which it is alleged by M. Hanart, the distiller of the oil in question, after being carefully bottled and kept for some years, successfully rivals the English oil both in quality and price.

Of late years an essential oil of peppermint manufactured by Messrs Holchkiss, of New York, has lately come into considerable demand.

This, which is said to be a very pure article, differs from the other peppermint oils in becoming thick when first mixed with spirit of wine.

After a short time, however, the mixture clears and becomes perfectly bright.

Oil of peppermint is stimulant, antispasmodic, and carminative, and has always been a favourite remedy in flatulence, nausea, vomiting, loss of appet.i.te, cramp of the stomach, colic, griping pains, diarrha, the early stage of cholera, &c.--_Dose_, 1 to 3 drops, on sugar.

=Oil of Petro'leum.= See NAPHTHA, OILS (Mineral), PETROLEUM, &c.

=Oil of Pim'ento.= _Syn._ OIL OF ALLSPICE; OLEUM PIMENTae (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L. From the bruised fruit of _Eugenia pimenta_, allspice, or Jamaica pepper. Pale yellow, growing reddish brown by age; odour, a combination of cloves and ca.s.sia; taste pungent. Sp. gr. 1021. _Prod._ 5% to 8%.

_Obs._ Oil of pimento contains two oils similar to those found in clove oil. When pure, nitric acid turns it red, with active effervescence and the a.s.sumption of a rusty brown colour. It combines with the salifiable bases in a nearly similar manner to oil of cloves. It is much used in perfumery, especially in hair cosmetics.

=Oil of Pim'pernel.= _Syn._ OLEUM PIMPINELLae, L. From the root of _Sanguisorba officinalis_, or pimpernel. Blue; carminative.

=Oil, Pine-ap'ple.= This artificial essential oil dates its commercial importance from the Great Exhibition of 1851. It is essentially butyric ether, and may be regarded as simply the crude form of that substance. On the large scale it is prepared by saponifying b.u.t.ter or crude butyric acid with a strong lye of caustic pota.s.sa, and dissolving the resulting soap in the smallest possible quant.i.ty of hot alcohol; to the solution is added a mixture of alcohol and oil of vitriol in excess, and the whole is then submitted to distillation as long as the product has an aromatic fruity odour; the product is rectified from dried chloride of calcium and a little litharge. Dissolved in rectified spirit it is much used as a flavouring substance by confectioners and liquoristes. See ETHER (Butyric) and ESSENCE OF PINE-APPLE, &c.

=Oil of Pota'to Spirit.= See FUSEL OIL.

=Oil of Ravensa'ra.= _Syn._ OLEUM RAVENSARae, L. From the roots of _Ravensara aromatica_. Chiefly used to adulterate oil of cloves, which it somewhat resembles.

=Oil of Rho'dium.= _Syn._ OLEUM RHODII, L. Said to be derived from the wood of a species of _Rhodoriza_. Very fluid and limpid; pale yellow; soon darkens by age and exposure; tastes bitter and aromatic; has a modified odour of roses. Chiefly used as a subst.i.tute for otto of roses in cheap perfumery, and to adulterate it. Oil of sandal-wood is frequently sold for it. _Prod._ 1% to 16%. See OIL OF ROSES (_below_).

=Oil of Ro"ses.= _Syn._ OLEUM ROSae, L. _Prep._ 1. From the petals of _Rosa sempervirens_ (Linn.), or the musk rose, as oil of cloves, observing to keep the water in the worm-tub at 85 Fahr., and afterwards subjecting the water in the receiver to refrigeration. Resembles otto of roses, of which it is merely a variety. _Prod._ 1/20 to 1/16 of 1%.

2. (ATTAR OF ROSES, OTTO OF R.; OLEUM ROSae--Ph. E.) From the petals of _Rosa centifolia_ and _Rosa sempervirens_ (damask and musk rose), princ.i.p.ally the first, by saturating the water, by returning it repeatedly on fresh flowers, and then exposing it to a low temperature. In the East Indies it is obtained by stratifying gingelly seeds in alternate layers with rose petals, for some days, and repeating the arrangement with fresh roses till the seeds are saturated, when the oil is expressed and distilled along with water. In the neighbourhood of Mecca the rose leaves are macerated in salt-and-water for 2 or 3 days, and then distilled, the water being received in separate receivers at different parts of the process. The water is afterwards exposed in porous earthenware vessels, tied over with linen, in trenches dug in the earth, and over which moistened straw is thrown, when in a short time the otto separates and floats on the surface.

_Prop., &c._ Colourless, or nearly so; odour intense, penetrating, and diffusive, and in a concentrated state far from pleasant, but when dilute very agreeable; taste, bland and sweetish; when pure, it congeals at 80, and does not remelt until heated to fully 85 Fahr.; 1000 parts of alcohol of 806 dissolve only 7 parts of otto at 57 Fahr., and only 33 parts at 72. Sp. gr. 832 at 90, to water 1000 at 60 Fahr. _Prod._ 100 lbs. of roses yield 2 to 3 dr.

_Pur._ Otto of roses is frequently adulterated with the oils of rhodium, sandal-wood, and geranium, and with camphor; and occasionally with spermaceti, to give the spurious compound the usual crystalline appearance. The following are reliable tests:--1. Pure otto has a bland, sweet taste; if it is bitter, it contains oil of rhodium or sandal-wood; if it is pungent, or 'bites,' the palate, it contains either oil of geranium or camphor, and probably both; if it imparts an unctuous sensation, it contains spermaceti.--2. Exposed for some hours to the fumes of a small quant.i.ty of iodide under a bell-gla.s.s in the cold, pure otto remains white, and continues so when exposed to the air; an adulterated sample, on the contrary, becomes yellow or brown, and afterwards, on exposure to the air, continues to darken in colour, until it becomes of a deep brown, or even perfectly black, according to the quant.i.ty of foreign oil present. A single drop may be thus tested.--3. (Guibourt.) One or two drops of the suspected oil are put into a watch-gla.s.s; the same number of drops of concentrated sulphuric acid are added, and the two fluids are mixed with a gla.s.s-rod. All the oils are rendered more or less brown by this proceeding; but, otto of roses retains the purity of its odour--oil of geranium acquires a strong and disagreeable odour, which is perfectly characteristic--the odour of the oil of rhodium is increased, and becomes somewhat unctuous, and, in general, it acquires an odour distinctly like that of cubebs.

=Oil of Rose'mary.= _Syn._ ROSMARINI OLEUM (B. P.), OLEUM ANTHOS, O.

RORISMARINI, O. ROSMARINI (Ph. L. E. & D.), O. RORISMARINI ESSENTIALae, L.

From the flowering tops of _Rosmarinus officinalis_. In the Ph. L. English oil of rosemary (O. ROSMARINI, ANGLIc.u.m) is ordered, as it is superior to that from abroad. Colourless; strongly fragrant, but scarcely agreeable unless compounded; carminative and stimulant. Boils at 365 Fahr. Sp. gr.

910; recent,897; rectified, 8887. _Prod._ 3/4 to 1% (nearly).

_Pur., &c._ It is frequently adulterated with oil of turpentine. When pure it dissolves in all proportions in spirit of 830. By age it deposits a crystalline stearoptene, and acquires a terebinthinate odour. It is chiefly used as a stimulant in liniments, hair oil, pomatums, &c.

=Oil of Rose'wort.= _Syn._ OIL OF ROSE-ROOT; OLEUM RHODIOLae, L. From the roots of _Rhodiola rosea_. Yellowish; odour resembles that of oil of rhodium, for which it is often sold, as well as the distilled water for rose water. 1-1/2 lb. yields about 1 dr.

=Oil of Rue.= _Syn._ RUTae OLEUM (B. P.), OLEUM RUTae (Ph. L. & E.), L. The "oil distilled from the fresh herb of _Ruta graveolens_" (B. P.), or common rue. Pale yellow, turning brown by age, and depositing a brownish, resinous sediment; congeals at about 40 Fahr.; acrid, bitter; odour that of the plant; stimulant, antispasmodic, and emmenagogue. Sp. gr. 909 to 911. _Prod._ 1/4 to 1%(nearly). According to Raybaud, the recent dried seeds yield fully four times as much oil as the flowering herb.

_Pur._ Nearly always adulterated. When pure--1. It forms a clear solution with rectified spirit.--2. It does not form a camphor with gaseous hydrochloric acid.--3. Iodine dissolves in it slowly, without any apparent reaction, beyond a darkening and a slight increase of viscidity.--4. It is unaffected by a solution of chromate of pota.s.sa.--5. Nitric acid very slowly changes it into a greenish-yellow liquid balsam.--6. If it forms a reddish-brown solution with liquor of pota.s.sa and a still darker one with oil of vitriol, or if it fulminates with iodine, it is adulterated with the oil of some l.a.b.i.ate plant.--7. It is more soluble in both rectified spirit and water than any of the oils used to adulterate it.

=Oil of Saf'fron.= _Syn._ OLEUM CROCI, L. From the pistils of _Crocus sativus_ (saffron). Yellow; heavier than water; acrid, pungent, and narcotic; decomposed by exposure to light and age, with the formation of a white solid matter, which is lighter than water.

=Oil of Sage.= _Syn._ OLEUM SALVIae, L. From the herbaceous portion of _Salvia officinalis_, or common sage.

=Oil of San'dal-wood.= _Syn._ OLEUM SANTALI, O. S. ALBI, L. From the wood of _Santalum alb.u.m_, or sandal-tree, and preferably from that of Malabar.

It has an odour somewhat resembling that of oil of rhodium, for which it is commonly used; also used to adulterate otto of roses. _Prod._ 9 lbs.

yield 1 oz.; 100 lbs. yield 5 oz. (Raybaud).

=Oil of Sarsaparil'la.= _Syn._ OLEUM SARZae, L. From the root bark, distilled along with salt-and-water. Acrid; odour and flavour same as the root.

=Oil of Sas'safras.= _Syn._ VOLATILE OIL OF S.; OLEUM Sa.s.sAFRAS (Ph. E.), O. LAURI S., O. S. OFFICINALIS, L. From bruised sa.s.safras chips, the sliced root of _Sa.s.safras officinale_, as oil of cloves. Pale yellow; highly odorous; hot, pungent, rubefacient, and stimulant; reputed alterative, sudorific, and diuretic, and, as such, occasionally given in rheumatism, cutaneous affections, &c. Sp. gr. 1094 to 1096. _Prod._ 1-1/2 to 2% (fully).

_Pur., &c._--1. If the density is lower than 1094, it is adulterated.--2.

Nitric acid acts on this oil, at first slowly, merely turning it of an orange-red, but afterwards with violence, and a reddish-brown resin is formed.--3. Mixed with about one half its weight of sulphuric acid, a green colour is at first developed, which, by heat, is changed to a blood red. A large quant.i.ty of sulphuric acid acts at once violently, white fumes are given off, and mere charcoal is left.--4. With iodine it forms a permanently clear solution, or at least one that remains so for some time.--5. By agitation with water, it separates into two oils--one lighter, the other heavier, than that fluid.

=Oil of Sav'ine.= _Syn._ OLEUM SABINae (B. P.), OLEUM JUNIPERI SABINae, O.

SABINae (Ph. E. & D.), L. From the fresh tops or leaves of _Juniperus sabina_, or common savin. Pale yellow; limpid; acrid, pungent, and stimulant. It possesses the general properties of the plant in a highly exalted degree. Sp. gr. 915. _Prod._ Fresh herb, 125% to 15%; dried do.

(recent), 2-1/2% to 3%. _Dose_, 2 to 6 drops; as an anthelmintic, diaph.o.r.etic, and emmenagogue. Its use must be carefully avoided during pregnancy or disease of the abdominal viscera.

_Pur., &c._ It is less frequently adulterated than the other volatile oils. Its high sp. gr. and free solubility in rectified spirit offer the means of detecting the presence of either oil of turpentine or alcohol, the substances occasionally added to it. A mixture of equal parts of oil of savin and oil of vitriol, by distillation from milk of lime, furnishes an oil apparently identical with oil of thyme. (Winckler.)

=Oil of Sen'na.= _Syn._ OLEUM SENNae VOLATILE, L. Possesses the nauseous odour and flavour of the leaves, and, as well as the distilled water, is purgative.

=Oil of Spear'mint.= _Syn._ ENGLISH OIL OF SPEARMINT (B. P.), OIL OF MINT, OIL OF GREEN M.; MENTHae VIRIDIS OLEUM (B. P.); OLEUM MENTHae VIRIDIS (Ph.

L., E., & D.), O. M. SATIVae, O. ESSENTIALE MENTHae S., L. From the fresh flowering herb of _Mentha viridis_ (Linn.) or garden spearmint. Pale yellow; reddened by age; odour and general properties resemble those of oil of peppermint, but it is less grateful. It boils at 320 Fahr. Sp. gr.

915 (9394, Brande). _Prod._ 2% to 25%. Its common adulterants are alcohol and oil of turpentine.

=Oil of Spike (True).= _Syn._ FOREIGN OIL OF LAVENDER; OLEUM SPICae, O. S.

VERUM, O. STaeCHADIS, O. LAVANDULae S., L.: HUILE D'ASPIC, Fr. Chiefly from _Lavandula spica_ and _L. staechas_, or French and Alpine lavenders. It differs from English oil of lavender by its darker green colour and inferior odour. From France. Used by artists to mix their colours in, and to make varnishes. Oil of turpentine scented with lavender is commonly sold for it. _Prod._ From _L. spica_ (fresh), 3/4 to 1-1/2%; _L. staechas_ (dried), 3/4 to 1% (fully).

=Oil of Spike'nard.= _Syn._ OLEUM NARDI, L. The precious oil mentioned under this name in Scripture is supposed to have been derived from _Andropogon Iwaracusa_. The commercial oil of geranium (see _above_) is also called by this name.

=Oil of Spring Gra.s.s.= _Syn._ OLEUM ANTHOXANTHI ODORATI, L. From _Anthoxanthum odoratum_, or sweet-scented vernal gra.s.s. It is this oil that gives the very agreeable odour to new hay.

=Oil of Star-an'ise.= _Syn._ BADIAN OIL; OLEUM BADIANI, O. ANISI STELLATI, L. From the capsules of _Illicium anisatum_, or star-anise. It continues liquid at 35-1/2 Fahr. This, and its weaker reaction with iodine, distinguish it from the preceding compound, which it is commonly used to adulterate. _Prod._ 2% (fully).

=Oil of Sweet Fen'nel.= See OIL OF FENNEL.