Author Topic: Possible chemical isolation of beta asarone?  (Read 3761 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Antibody2

  • Guest
Possible chemical isolation of beta asarone?
« on: July 07, 2000, 03:46:00 PM »
This is something that came about as a result of a mistake.

The duck brothers were cleaning up some sassy oil, and there was a beaker of freshly distilled asarone (all three types), this beaker was accidentally tossed into a sep funnel containing 25% acetic acid.

When the asarone separated from the acetic solution, it had gained 20% in volume and was cloudy, the acetic was boiled off and the oil returned to being clear.

Couple days later on the advise of a sage bee the duck brothers washed the asarone with a saturated Sodium carbonate (mono) solution. This is where it gets interesting. Three very distinct layers formed, The aqueous layer on top. An asarone layer that had become completely opaque beige, and an asarone layer that was completely clear.

Antibody could be wrong, but he thinks the ducks have stumbled on to varying solubilities with the different asarones. Because the middle layer was of a volume consistent with what was beleived to be the beta asarone, the ducks assume that the beta asarone is able to solvate sodium carbonate or its solution whereas the alpha and gamma asarone are not able.

The ducks cannot decide yet whether this is due to the prior treatment with acetic acid or whether it would work on asarone that was not subject to the acid treatment. Or whether this work happen if triied with straight up calamus oil.

antibody thought this might be of interest to those looking for a chemical way to isolate asarone especially if it is the beta, which comprises the motherload of asian calamus oil.

So what do bees think is antibody an idiot savante here or just a moron who read about some calamus oil being destroyed?

Antibody can only repeat what antibody has gleaned from used condom wrappers!

Rhodium

  • Guest
Re: Possible chemical isolation of beta asarone?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2000, 09:36:00 PM »
The chemical constitution of alpha, beta and gamma asarone are too similar to be separated by solvent properties. I suspect that your laters is due to something else. I don't think you will know until you have distilled the dried organic layer either. No asarone is soluble in an aqueous phase (except as an emulsion).

http://rhodium.lycaeum.org