Sassafras Oil "imatation"

[gspotjgc4]

Just a quick queastion for you more experienced Bee's.Swim picked up a 4 ounce bottle of sassy oil at the flea hop the other day. It says "imatation" under sassy oil.Then goes on to say do not use internaly,in drinks,drugs, eyes, mucus, etc, etc... Swim only payed $2.00, did he get lucky or get fucked?
Enquiring minds want to know?

[methyl_ethyl]

First of all "imatation" is not even a word.  How the fuck would an experienced chemist be able to give you advice in this situation.  For all I know you could have a bottle of red stripe with 1mL of Phenylisothiocyanate added to it in a four ounce bottle. 

Even if it was four ounces of Sasafrass oil, there is not much you could do with that.  And even if it was not sasafrass oil you are only out two dollars.  I am sure the search engine is full of methods that would further help you identify your unknown substance.  With the information provided I do not see how anyone could reliably help you out with your query.

enquiring minds UTFSE.

welcome to the hive,

and have a nice day.

much_love

methyl_ethyl

[GC_MS]

Keep in mind that sassafras oil does not necessarily contains safrole. Due to its carcinogenity, safrole is sometimes removed from "genuine" sassafras oil (derived from Sassafras albidum) and the remaining oil offered as "sassafras oil".

[calcium]

It is very likely that you have 'fragrance oil' containing no safrole.

Fractional distillation of this stuff gives very frustrating, odd results. Lots of little fractions, with the largest being an unscented brown carrier oil.

Damn, that made for a rotten Sunday! The dealer mislabelled it on their website, but happily refunded my money and fixed the error.

[ApprenticeCook]

Usually with 'natural' e/o suppliers (actual e/o suppliers not flea market outlets) sell the safrole containing variety.

Something with imitation written on it would give you a hint yes? and also the cheap price? dont think it would contain anything usefull. But hey its only $2.

Distill it anyway and find out.

[taekin2004]

Imatation may mean the same scent as sassy oil but may not actually bee sassy oil.Have you ever seen the generic colognes of perfumes that on the label state that it is compared to the scent of a popular brand? As for the warning.... same goes for those generic perfumes, would you actually consume them without harmful side effects? There are TONS of companys that sell sassy for cheap, if your interested and have the cash then just search and then search some more. ;-) Reasonable meaning 2lb jar for maybe $80 US. Only SWIM knows of such things, I am only guessing.
Probably a waisted 2 dollars but just be glad it is only 2 dollars. Maybe if your friend is named SWIM he could use the practice on such a oil for distilation and it would help him determine more about safrole as he proves that his oil did'nt actually have safrole in it. Did that make sense or was I rambling about something to do with a swimming pool? ;-)

[methlab]

there are 2 types of sassioil. most of the time they sell
sassioil, which contains NO safrole, because during steam distillation they exclude the fractions which contain the 'bad' safrole (don't know exactly what fractions).

[ApprenticeCook]

its a matter of reading the sticker...

i too have seen the sassoil or sassaoil (product name) cant remember which one but yes they are for scent only and are not an actual e/o.
If you goto a e/o distributer and they sell you a bottle which says sassafras oil: sassafras alibidium (sp?) pure essential oil it more than likely contains safrole.

as long as it says its a pure e/o with no additives its usually ok (and its from an actual e/o dealer!)

sometimes you find they sell massage therepy oils etc with sassy in them, they dont have safrole... only scent version.

Hope this helps.

[wyndowlicker]

Hey now,


 Yes indeed we all have probably seen the bad sas oil companies out there.I had a whole case of 500ml bottles.All crap.It was my first time ever trying to distill anything other than H20.This stuff will have you pulling your glassware apart wondering where the leak is.I didnt know or couldnt tell that the oil didnt contain safrole.It was very thick and the first things I thought of was there is castor oil added to give it a thick consistancy.This meant to me that there was only a small percentage available.So I tried and tried.Then I gave up for 3 months.I finally got the real oil and the rest is history.The stuff now is primo.Water weight consistancy and if you let it sit the crap settles to the bottom.You can decant and make distilation a freeking breeze.It all changed that day.I got it that day thanks to some very good bees!I get by with a little help from my friends.  

[gspotjgc4]

You told me what I figure in the first place! I can see why some bee's get so frustrated answering the same old questions.
But hey I had to ask,had a woody all the way home!Only way to learn is ask and read...Sorry about the spelling M.E. you should try cutting back on the caffine.I work with archetects every day;smart, educated but couldn't spell shit if it were not for spell checker. I suppose Chemist are the same way.But for futher reference spell checker will be employed.Good day all...