crude trimyristin - Chemistry

NOTE 1
The following procedure can be used to clean the round bottom flasks used in this
experiment. The product is not soluble in water and not easily dissolved in cold organic
solvents. To remove the remaining traces of crude product, you will need to use soap and HOT
water (scrub with a brush). Then use water to rinse out all of the soap. To remove the water
from the flask, rinse it with two small portions (2–3 mL) of acetone by placing the tip of the
acetone squeeze bottle in the neck of the flask and allowing the acetone to run down the inside.
Rotating the flask while adding the acetone will help rinse any water droplets off the side of the
flask. The flask can be swirled then the acetone poured out into the sink. Let the flask air dry
for a few moments and If the flask is still not dry, repeat the above procedure. Drawing air
through the glassware, by means of the aspirator or by holding the piece of glassware over the
window vent, will speed the drying process. Note that each "wash" should use no more than 3
mL of acetone. Using excess acetone does not dry the equipment any better and is wasteful.
NOTE 2
When you isolate a product from a natural source, you should look up the expected
percentage and compare it to the experimental percentage. The expected percentage can be
found in a number of places. For example, you might try the MERCK index. This book is
available in the Chemistry Help Center (C-2012). This book contains information about
chemicals, natural products, plant extracts, etc.
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To find information about the expected yield of crude trimyristin from nutmeg, you should
look up the listing for "nutmeg" , not the listing for "trimyristin". If you look up "trimyristin", it will
give you information about the compound, trimyristin. However, since trimyristin can be isolated
from more than one source, this listing will have nothing about the trimyristin content in nutmeg.
If you look up the listing for "nutmeg" in the cross index, you will find that it is actually listed
under its Latin name. This listing will tell you that there are two kinds of oils found in nutmeg
(fixed oil and volatile oil) and the percentage of each is also given. You must then look up the
two kinds of "oil of nutmeg" to determine which one contains the trimyristin. Note that the
method used to extract the oils from nutmeg in this experiment, will likely extract both the fixed
and volatile oils. Thus the expected yield of product, which in this case is very impure
trimyristin, will be the total of the fixed and volatile oils.
The information can also be obtained by consulting a book dealing with spices or by
using the internet. Note that for any natural product, the expected percent recovery will not be
given as a single value, but as a range of values.