[Footnote: From the _Archiv der Pharmacie_.]
By F. A. FLÜCKIGER.
This oil, on account of its fragrance, which is described by most
observers as extremely pleasant, has attained to some importance, so
that it appears to me not superfluous to submit the following remarks
upon it and the plant from which it is derived.
The tree, of which the flowers yield the oil known under the name
"Ilang-ilang" or "Alanguilan," is the _Cananga odorata_, Hook. fil. et
Thomp.,[1] of the order Unonaceæ, for which reason it is called also in
many price lists "Oleum Anonæ," or "Oleum Unonæ" It is not known to
me whether the tree can be identified in the old Indian and Chinese
literature.[2] In the west it was first named by Ray as "Arbor
Saguisan," the name by which it was called at that time at Luçon[3]
Rump[4] gave a detailed description of the "Bonga Cananga," as the
Malays designate the tree ("Tsjampa" among the Javanese); Rumph's
figure, however is defective. Further, Lamarck[5] has short notices of
it under "Canang odorant, _Uvaria odorata_." According to Roxburgh,[6]
the plant was in 1797 brought from Sumatra to the Botanical Gardens in
Calcutta. Dunal devoted to the _Ucaria odorata_, or, properly, _Unona
odorata_, as he himself corrected it, a somewhat more thorough
description in his "Monographic de la Famille des Anonacees,"[7] which
principally repeats Rumph's statements.
[Footnote 1: "Flora Indica," i (1855), 130.]
[Footnote 2: "No mention of any plant or flowers, which might be
identified with Cananga, can be traced in any Sanskrit works."--Dr.
Charles Rice, _New Remedies_, April, 1881, page 98.]
[Footnote 3: Ray. "Historia Plantarum, Supplementum," tomi i et ii
"Hist. Stirpium Insulæ Luzonensis et Philippinarum" a Georgio Josepho
Canello; London, 1704, 83]
[Footnote 4: "Herbarium Amboinense, Amboinsch Kruidboek," ii.
(Amsterdam, 1750), cap. xix, fol. 195 and tab. 65.]
[Footnote 5: "Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique," i (1783), 595.]
[Footnote 6: "Flora Indica," ii. (Serampore, 1832), 661.]
[Footnote 7: Paris, 1817, p. 108, 105.]
Lastly, we owe a very handsome figure of the _Cananga odorata_ to the
magnificent "Flora Javæ," of Blume;[1] a copy of this, which in the
original is beautifully colored, is appended to the present notice. That
this figure is correct I venture to assume after having seen numerous
specimens in Geneva, with De Candolle, as well as in the Delessert
herbarium. The unjustifiable name _Unona odoratissima_, which
incorrectly enough has passed into many writings, originated with
Blanco,[2] who in his description of the powerful fragrance of the
flowers, which in a closed sleeping room produces headache, was induced
to use the superlative "odoratissima." Baillon[3] designated as
Canangium the section of the genus _Uvaria_, from which he would not
separate the Ilang-ilang tree.
[Footnote 1: Vol. i. (Brussels, 1829), fol. 29, tab ix et xiv. B.]
[Footnote 2: "Flora de Filipinas," Manila, 1845, 325. _Unona
odoratissima_, Alang-ilan. The latter name, according to Sonnerat, is
stated by the Lamarck to be of Chinese origin; Herr Reymann derives it
from the Tagal language.]
[Footnote 3: "Dictionnaire de Botanique."]
[Illustration: CANAGA ODORATA]
The notice of Maximowicz,[1] "Ueber den Ursprung des Parfums
Ylang-Ylang," contains only a confirmation of the derivation of the
perfume from Cananga.
[Footnote 1: Just's "Botanischer Jahresbericht," 1875, 973.]
_Cananga odorata_ is a tree attaining to a height of 60 feet, with few
but abundantly ramified branches. The shortly petioled long acuminate
leaves, arranged in two rows, attain a length of 18 centimeters and a
breadth of 7 centimeters; the leaf is rather coriaceous, and slightly
downy only along the nerves on the under side. The handsome and imposing
looking flowers of the _Cananga odorata_ occur to the number of four on
short peduncles. The lobes of the tripartite leathery calyx are finally
bent back. The six lanceolate petals spread out very nearly flat, and
grow to a length of 7 centimeters and a breadth of about 12 millimeters;
they are longitudinally veined, of a greenish color, and dark brown when
dried. The somewhat bell-shaped elegantly drooping flowers impart quite
a handsome appearance, although the floral beauty of other closely
allied plants is far more striking. The filaments of the Cananga are
very numerous; the somewhat elevated receptacle has a shallow depression
at the summit. The green berry-like fruit is formed of from fifteen to
twenty tolerably long stalked separate carpels which inclose three to
eight seeds arranged in two rows. The umbel-like peduncles are situated
in the axils of the leaves or spring from the nodes of leafless
branches. The flesh of the fruit is sweetish and aromatic. The flowers
possess a most exquisite perfume, frequently compared with hyacinth,
narcissus, and cloves.
_Cananga odorata_, according to Hooker and Thomson or Bentham and
Hooker,[1] is the only species of this genus; the plants formerly
classed together with it under the names _Unona_ or _Uvaria_, among
which some equally possess odorous flowers, are now distributed between
those two genera, which are tolerably rich in species. From _Uvaria_
the _Cananga_ differs in its valvate petals, and from _Unona_ in the
arrangement of the seeds in two rows.
[Footnote 1: "Genera Plantarum," i, (1864), 24.]
_Cananga odorata_ is distributed throughout all Southern Asia, mostly,
however, as a cultivated plant. In the primitive forest the tree is much
higher, but the flowers are, according to Blume, almost odorless. In
habit the Cananga resembles the _Michelia champaca_, L.,[1] of the
family Magnoliaceæ, an Indian tree extraordinarily prized on account of
the very pleasant perfume of its yellow flowers, and which was already
highly celebrated in ancient times in India. Among the admired fragrant
flowers which are the most prized by the in this respect pampered
Javanese, the "Tjempaka" (_Michelia champaca_) and the "Kenangga wangi"
(_Cananga odorata_)[2] stand in the first rank.
[Footnote 1: A beautiful figure of this also is given in Blume's "Flora
Javæ," iii., Magnoliaceæ, tab. I.]
[Footnote 2: Junghuhn, Java, Leipsic, 1852, 166.]
It is not known to me whether the oil of cananga was prepared in former
times. It appears to have first reached Europe about 1864; in Paris and
London its choice perfume found full recognition.[1] The quantities,
evidently only very small, that were first imported from the Indian
Archipelago were followed immediately by somewhat larger consignments
from Manila, where German pharmacists occupied themselves with the
distillation of the oil.[2]
[Footnote 1: _Jahresbericht d. Pharmacie_, by Wiggers and Husemann,
1867, 422.]
[Footnote 2: _Jahresbericht_, 1868, 166.]
Oscar Reymann and Adolf Ronsch, of Manila, exhibited the ilang-ilang oil
in Paris in 1878; the former also showed the Cananga flowers. The oil
of the flowers of the before-mentioned _Michelia champaca_, which stood
next to it, competes with the cananga oil, or ilang-ilang oil, in
respect to fragrance.[1] How far the latter has found acceptance is
difficult to determine; a lowering of the price which it has undergone
indicates probably a somewhat larger demand. At present it may be
obtained in Germany for about 600 marks (£30) the kilogramme.[2] Since
the Cananga tree can be so very easily cultivated in all warm countries,
and probably everywhere bears flowers endowed with the same pleasant
perfume, it must be possible for the oil to be produced far more
cheaply, notwithstanding that the yield is always small.[3] It may be
questioned whether the tree might not, for instance, succeed in Algeria,
where already so many exotic perfumery plants are found.
[Footnote 1: _Archiv der Pharmacie_, ccxiv. (1879), 18.]
[Footnote 2: According to information kindly supplied by Herr Reymann,
in Paris, Nice, and Grasse, annually about 200 kilogrammes are used; in
London about 50 kilogrammes, and equally as much in Germany (Leipsic,
Berlin, Frankfort).]
[Footnote 3: 25 grammes of oil from 5 kilogrammes of flowers, according
to Reymann.]
According to Guibourt,[1] the "macassar oil," much prized in Europe for
at least some decades as a hair oil, is a cocoa nut oil digested with
the flowers of _Cananga odorata_ and _Michelia champaca_, and colored
yellow by means of turmeric. In India unguents of this kind have always
been in use.
[Footnote 1: _Histoire Naturelle des Drogues Simples_, iii. (1850),
675.]
The name "Cananga" is met with in Germany as occurring in former times.
An "Oleum destillatum Canangæ" is mentioned by the Leipsic apothecary,
Joh. Heinr. Linck[1] among "some new exotics" in the "Sammlung von
Naturund Medicin- wie, auch hierzu gehorigen Kunst- und Literatur
Geschichten, so sich Anno 1719 in Schlesien und andern Ländern begeben"
(Leipsic und Budissin, 1719). As, however, the fruit of the same tree
sent together with this cananga oil is described by Linck as uncommonly
bitter, he cannot probably here refer to the present _Cananga odorata_,
the fruit-pulp of which is expressly described by Humph and by Blume as
sweetish. Further an "Oleum Canangæ, Camel-straw oil," occurs in 1765 in
the tax of Bremen and Verden.[2] It may remain undetermined whether this
oil actually came from "camel-straw," the beautiful grass _Andropogon
laniger_.
[Footnote 1: Compare Flückiger, "Pharmakognosic," 2d edit, 1881, p.
152.]
[Footnote 2: Flückiger, "Documente zur Geschichte der Pharmacie," Halle
(1876), p 93.]
From a chemical point of view cananga oil has become interesting because
of the information given by Gal,[1] that it contains benzoic acid, no
doubt in the form of a compound ether. So far as I, at the moment,
remember the literature of the essential oils, this occurrence of
benzoic acid in plants stands alone,[2] although in itself it is not
surprising, and probably the same compound will yet be frequently
detected in the vegetable kingdom. As it was convenient to test the
above statement by an examination I induced Herr Adolf Convert,
a pharmaceutical student from Frankfort-On-Main, to undertake an
investigation of ilang-ilang oil in that direction. The oil did not
change litmus paper moistened with alcohol. A small portion distilled
at 170° C.; but the thermometer rose gradually to 290°, and at a still
higher temperature decomposition commenced. That the portions passing
over below 290° had a strong acid reaction already indicated the
presence of ethers. Herr Convert boiled 10 grammes of the oil with 20
grammes of alcohol and 1 gramme of potash during one day in a retort
provided with a return condenser. Finally the alcohol was separated by
distillation, the residue supersaturated with dilute sulphuric acid, and
together with much water submitted to distillation until the distillate
had scarcely an acid reaction. The liquid that had passed over was
neutralized with barium carbonate, and the filtrate concentrated, when
it yielded crystals, which were recognized as nearly pure acetate. The
acid residue, which contained the potassium sulphate, was shaken with
ether; after the evaporation of the ether there remained a crystalline
mass having an acid reaction which was colored violet with ferric
chloride. This reaction, which probably may be ascribed to the account
of a phenol, was absent after the recrystallization of the crystalline
mass from boiling water. The aqueous solution of the purified
crystalline scales then gave with ferric chloride only a small
flesh-colored precipitate. The crystals melted at 120° C. In order
to demonstrate the presence of benzoic acid Herr Convert boiled the
crystals with water and silver oxide and dried the scales that separated
from the cooling filtrate over sulphuric acid. 0.0312 gramme gave upon
combustion 0.0147 gramme of silver, or 47.1 per cent. The benzoate of
silver contains 46.6 per cent, of metal; the crystals prepared from the
acid of ilang-ilang oil were, therefore, benzoate of silver. For the
separation of the alcoholic constituent, which is present in the form of
an apparently not very considerable quantity of benzoic ether, far more
ilang-ilang oil would be required than was at command.
[Footnote 1: _Comptes Rendus_, lxxvi. (1873), 1428, and abstracted in
the _Pharmaceutical Journal_ [3], iv., p. 28; also in _Jahresbericht_,
1873, p. 431.]
[Footnote 2: Overlooking Peru balsam and Tolu balsam.]
Besides the benzoic ether and, probably, a phenol, mentioned above,
there may be recognized in ilang-ilang oil an aldehyde or ketone,
inasmuch as upon shaking it with bisulphite of sodium I observed the
formation of a very small quantity of crystals. That Gal did not obtain
the like result must at present remain unexplained. Like the benzoic
acid the acetic acid is, no doubt, present in cananga oil in the form of
ether.
* * * * *