EUGENOL (allyl guaiacol, eugenic acid), C10H1202,anodoriferous principle; it is the chief constituent of oil of cloves, and occurs in many other essential oils.
It results in the alkaline fusion of many resins, and may be prepared by fusing ortho-phenolsulphonic acid, o-chlorphenol, o-bromphenol, and o-phenoldisulphonic acid with potash, or, better, by heating its methyl ether, guaiacol, C 6 H 4 (OH) (OCH 3), a constituent of beechwood tar, with hydriodic acid.
Guaiacol may be obtained directly from beechwood tar, from pyrocatechin by methylation with potash and potassium methyl sulphate at 180°, or from anisol by nitration, reduction of the ortho-nitroanisol to amino-anisol, which is then diazotized and boiled with water.
Guaiacol carbonate is known as duotal, the phosphate as phosphatol, the phosphite as guaiaco-phosphal; phosphotal is a mixture of the phosphites of creosote phenols.
The valerianic;ester of guaiacol is known as geosote, the benzoic as benzosol,' the salicylic as guaiacolsalol, while the glycerin ether appears as guaiamar.
- This includes a very large number of bodies chemically allied to benzol, such as carbolic acid, sulphocarbolates, creosote, wood tar, coal tar, oil of cade, thymol, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, naphthol, hydroquinon, cresol, guaiacol, ichthyol, saccharin and many others.
