Lavender Flowers. Lavandula. U.S. 1880. Lavender flowers have a strong fragrant odor, and an aromatic, warm,
bitterish taste. They retain their fragrance long after drying. Alcohol
extracts their virtues, and a volatile oil upon which their odor depends
rises with that liquid in distillation. Hager obtained from a pound of the
fresh flowers from half a drachm to two drachms of the oil. The flowers are
frequently sold for packing away with clothing as a moth preventive. Most of
the lavender flowers of commerce are obtained from France and England.
Lavender is an aromatic stimulant and tonic, but is seldom given in its
crude state. The products obtained by its distillation are much used in
perfumery, and the volatile oil is official. (See Oleum Lavandulae, Part 1.) OLEUM LAVANDULAE. U.S., Br. OIL OF LAVENDER Ol. Lavand. (Part 1.)
LAVENDULA
U.S � LAVENDER FLOWERS.
United States Dispensatory 1926
Compiled and edited by Ivor Hughes
Ω
Lavandula vera DC. (L. officinalis Chaix, L. spica L.) Flores
Lavandulae, P. G. Lavande, Fleurs de Lavande, Fr. Lavandelbluthen, G.
Lavendola, It. Espliego Alhucema, Sp.
Lavender is a small, labiate shrub with sessile, opposite, entire,
linear, revolute leaves and terminal spikes of small, fragrant,
lavender-colored, bi-labiate flowers. The plant is a native of Mediterranean
regions, and covers vast tracts of dry and barren land in Spain, Italy, and
the south of France. In England and America it is very largely cultivated. A
number of cultural varieties have been produced. The cultivation of lavender
has become an important industry and attempts are being made to cultivate
the finer qualities of lavender in the United States. For details of
lavender culture, see U. S. D., 19th edition, p. 1546.
Oleum Lavandulae Florum, U.S. VIII; Oil of Lavender Flowers; Huile volatile de Lavande officinal, Fr. Cod.; Essence de Lavande, Fr.; Oleum Lavandulae, P. G.; Lavandel�l, G.; Essenza di lavanda, It.; Esencia de espliego, Sp.
This oil is usually distilled from the flowers (see Lavender Flowers, Part II) and flower stems conjointly, though of finer quality when obtained from the former exclusively. Dried lavender flowers are said to yield from 1 to 1.5 per cent, of oil According to Zeller, the fresh flowers yield 1.03, the dried 4.3, the whole fresh herb in flower 0.76 per cent. It is said that the portion of oil first distilled is most fragrant, and is often kept separate, and sold at a higher price.
Description and Physical Properties. � A colorless or yellow liquid, having the characteristic odor and taste of lavender flowers.
The Oil is soluble in 3 volumes of 70 per cent, alcohol, by volume. Specific gravity: 0.875 to 0.888 at 25� C. Optical rotation: varies from -3� to -10� in a 100 mm. tube at 25� C. Refractive index: 1.4600 to 1.4640 at 20� C. Shake 5 ce. of Oil of Lavender with an equal volume of distilled water in a narrow, graduated, 10 cc. glass-stoppered cylinder: the volume of the Oil does not diminish (alcohol). Shake 20 cc. of the Oil with 40 cc. of 5 per cent, alcohol in a 100 cc. glass-stoppered cylinder. When the mixture has cleared, withdraw 30 cc. of the alcoholic solution, by means of a pipette, and place it in a 125 cc. Erlenmeyer flask. Neutralize the solution with half-normal potassium hydroxide, using 2 drops of phenolphthalein T.S. as indicator, add 5 cc. of half-normal potassium hydroxide, and heat the mixture on a bath of boiling water under a reflux condenser during one hour. Allow the mixture to cool, remove the flask from the bath, and titrate the excess of alkali with half-normal hydrochloric acid: not less than 4.7 ec. is required for neutralization (acetins). Preserve in well-stoppered, amber-colored bottles, in a cool place, protected from light." U.S.
Pale yellow or yellowish-green. Odor that of the flowers; taste pungent, slightly bitter. Specific gravity 0.883 to 0.900; optical rotation -3� to -10�. Soluble in 4 parts of alcohol (70 per cent.). Contains from 7 to 11 per cent, of esters (Engish oil), or not less than 30 per cent, of esters (foreign oil), calculated as linalyl acetate, C10H17C2H3O2."
Br.The principal constituent is linalool. It also contains linalyl acetate (from 30 to 45 per cent, in the oil from French flowers, and from 7 to 10 per cent, in the oil from English flowers), the butyric ester of the same alcohol, geraniol, a very small amount of cineol (more in the English than in the French oil), and sometimes traces of pinene, limonene, and a sesquiterpene. Oil of Spike is procured from the broad-leaved variety of lavender which grows wild in Europe, the Lavandula Spica of De Cavanilles. Its odor is less fragrant than that of common oil of lavender, and is somewhat analogous to that of oil of turpentine, with which it is said to be often adulterated. It is used by artists in the preparation of varnishes. The oil of spike contains about 30 per cent, of cineol and but small quantities of esters,
Oil of lavender is used chiefly as a perfume, though possessed of carminative and stimulant properties, and sometimes useful in cases of nervous languor and headache.
Dose
, from one to five minims (0.06-0.3 cc.).Off. Prep. � Spiritus Lavandula;, U. S., Br.; Tinctura Lavandulae Composite, U. S., Br.; Acetum Aromaticum, N. F.; Spiritus Odoratus, N. F.; Mistura Oleo-balsamica, N. F.
TINCTURA LAVANDULAE COMPOSITA. U. S., Br.
COMPOUND TINCTURE OF LAVENDER Tr. Lavand. Co. [Compound Spirit of
Lavender]
Spiritus Lavandula Compositus, U. S. 1870; Lavender Drops; Teinture de
Lavande compose, Fr.; Zusammengesetzte Lavendeltinktur, G.
Oil of Lavender, 8 cc.; Oil of Rosemary, 2 cc.; Cinnamon, in moderately coarse powder, 20 Gm.; Clove, in moderately coarse powder, 6 Gm.; Myristica, in moderately coarse powder, 10 Gm.; Red Saunders, in moderately coarse powder, 10 Gm.; to make 1000 cc. Prepare a Tincture by Type Process M, macerating the mixed drugs in a mixture of 750 cc. of alcohol, in which the oils have been dissolved, and 250 cc. of water. Complete the preparation with a menstruum of 3 volumes of alcohol and 1 volume of water. Alcohol content, by volume, 67 to 72 per cent."
U.S.Oil of Lavender, 5.0 millilitres; Oil of Rosemary, 0.5 millilitre; Cinnamon Bark, bruised, 10.0 grammes; Nutmeg, bruised, 10.0 grammes; Red Saunders Wood, rasped, 20.0 grammes; Alcohol (90 per cent.), sufficient to produce 1000.0 millilitres. Macerate the solid ingredients and the Oils with nine hundred millilitres of the Alcohol for seven days, shaking occasionally; filter; pass sufficient of the Alcohol through the filter to produce the required volume."
Br.The compound tincture of lavender of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is nearly twice the strength of the British preparation, although it is made with a menstruum weaker in alcohol. When properly prepared it is an excellent preparation to be used for gastric uneasiness, nausea, and flatulence.
Dose,
from thirty minims to a fluidrachm (1.8-3.75 cc.).See also Spiritus USD. The N.F. and Essential oils Martindale�s 24th.
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