Java patchouli

It is practicall)- eorlviin that some other leases from closely allied s cirs are from time to time to be found iu " Java patchouli leaves, ... 

Closely related to Java patchouli (P. heyneonus) known as false patchouli and sometimes used to produce an essential oil. The true oil is a viscous amber colour with a sweet earthy odour. Its main component is patchouli alcohol (up to 40%) with bulnesene (14-17%), seychellene (8.5-9.5%), caryophyllene (3-4%), 3-patchoulene (2.7-4%). There are a variety of attributed therapeutic properties. For the mind it is said to be a grounding oil helpful for those who feel depressed, detached and exhausted. Applied to the circulation it is considered stimulating, as a diuretic and for skin healing in conditions like acne and eczema. It is often used as a fixative in oriental perfumes, and a deodorizer as it masks unpleasant smells. Due to its very strong odour it is advisable to use in low proportions in a blend. Generally considered to be a safe oil as it is non-irritant and non-sensitizing. 

Distillation of the leaves in the Straits Settlements is carried out in stills with htlse-bottom cylinders, usually with steam at a pressure of about 1 3 atmospheres, when a yield of about 1 5 per cent, is obtained. By using higher pressure a larger yield of oil results, but the quality is inferior. By very prolonged distillation up to 2 6 per cent, has been obtained in the native distilleries, but in Europe, where most of the leaves are distilled for perfumery purposes, a yield of 4 per cent, is obtained from the true patchouli leaves, and of about 1 to 1 5 per cent, from the Java leaves. There appears to be no doubt that the question of fermentation of the leaves has an important bearing on the yield of oil. 

Dilem oil, or patchouli oil distilled irom Java leaves, has an odour distinctly recalling that of calamus oil, and has characters differing con- erably from those of the patchouli oil f- om Singapore leaves. This oil usually has characters foiling within the following limits —... 

It is soluble, sometimes with turbidity, in 6 to 10 volumes of 90 per cent, alcohol. Oils are, however, from time to time found with values much outside these limits, but how far this is due to the addition of other species of patchouli leaves to the distillation material is not known. Sdiimmel Co. have recorded an oik from Java leaves having a speiufic gravity 0-9659 and an optical rotation - 51 16. ... 

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