Since the big price hike on raw ephedrine in the great white north, and the lack of desire to purchase pills by the thousands, SWIM has spent some time looking at the fisability of producing their own L-PAC. The fermentation process with the addition of benzaldehyde looks reasonably attractive. The question they have is according to a pharmaceutical 'bible' of theirs (Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th edition), benzaldehyde a.k.a 'artificial essential almond oil' is two of the same things. So, if that is the case then what makes it 'artificial'? Would it be the same as bitter almond oil extract with the hydrocyanic acid removed? They are just assuming that the hydrocyanic acid is not only what makes it bitter, but a health risk as well. They have UTFSE and found some posts with useful information, but none with the answers they are looking for. Thx

benzaldehyde a.k.a 'artificial essential almond oil' is two of the same things. So, if that is the case then what makes it 'artificial'? Would it be the same as bitter almond oil extract with the hydrocyanic acid removed?

The 'artificial' label is due to the benzaldehyde being produced synthetically, as this is way cheaper than extracting it from almonds.

'Genuine' oil of bitter almonds is 81-93% benzaldehyde, the rest being hydrocyanic acid (<5%) and other miscellaneous compounds which varies with source and method of isolation:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Prunus_dulcis.html

The difference between artificial and genuine almond oil is similar to the difference between aqueous ethanol and vodka.

Just for the record, the hive is loaded with information relating to synthesizing benzaldehyde from OTC reagents.
EG: Always have an alternate plan of action!