Perfumery

PERFUMERY (from French parfumerie—fragrant goods, perfumes), a branch of industry producing aromatic substances used to impart scent to the body, clothing, and cosmetic and hygiene preparations. The term P. is also used when referring to items and products of perfumery production, i.e., various fragrant goods. Aromatic substances used in P. are either natural or artificial. The former are 1) of plant origin: they are either extracted from various parts of plants—flowers, leaves, bark, roots—or collected after being exuded by the plant in the form of resins. This group also includes aromatic substances obtained from plant preparations and products: menthol—from mint, geraniol—from geranium oil, and some others. 2) Of animal origin: products of excretion from animal glands (musk, civet, etc.). The latter, i.e., artificial aromatic substances, are obtained through partial chemical synthesis from materials of plant origin, for example, terpineol from turpentine, vanillin from eugenol, etc., or are produced purely synthetically from coal tar. Until almost the end of the 19th century, the production of perfumery articles was based exclusively on aromatic substances of plant origin and to a lesser extent on animal (musk). The discovery of nitrobenzene by Mitscherlich (1834) should be considered the beginning of the era of synthetic organic aromatic substances. Although natural essential oils still occupy a prominent place in P., chemistry is increasingly replacing them with products obtained in pure form from natural essential oils or with synthetic organic products derived from coal tar, among which should be mentioned phenylethyl alcohol, which has the scent of roses, vanillin—of vanilla, coumarin—of fresh hay, heliotropin—of heliotrope, ionone—of violet, terpineol—of lilac, benzaldehyde—of bitter almond, etc. The active principles isolated from essential oil (for example, geraniol from geranium oil) have a strong characteristic odor; citral, found in lemon oil and in even greater quantity in the cheap lemongrass, serves as raw material for producing an aromatic substance with a lemon scent or for obtaining ionone with a violet scent. In P., alcoholic solutions of aromatic substances, so-called perfumes containing about 12% aromatic substances, and colognes with 3-4% aromatic substances are most commonly used. For making perfumes, pure 90-95° ethyl alcohol is used, and for cologne, 80-85°. Isopropyl alcohol is also used as a solvent, but rarely. Perfumes have either the definite scent of a particular flower or a complex aroma called a bouquet. The most delicate and expensive perfume and cologne bouquets are currently composed of a mixture of natural and synthetic aromatic substances. So-called floral colognes are prepared by dissolving corresponding "floral bouquets" in alcohol. Previously, colognes were prepared by prolonged maceration of essential oils and various parts of fragrant plants in alcohol, such as violet root, lemon peel, cinnamon bark, followed by distillation of the alcohol. Alcohol-free concentrated perfume essences, consisting of a mixture of essential oils and synthetic aromatic substances, are now also widely used. However, to reduce the cost of perfumery articles, aqueous perfumes and colognes are also manufactured. For preparing such aqueous perfumes and colognes, essential oils and aromatic substances more easily soluble in water are used, for example, coumarin (solubility 2%), or essential oils free from terpenes. In addition, so-called dry perfumes are made, which are a mixture of dried and powdered fragrant flowers, leaves, wood of fragrant trees (rose, cedar), roots (violet), etc., as well as a mixture of starch, magnesia, and aromatic substances, compressed into tablets. Dry perfumes are also made from paraffin saturated in a molten state with various essential oils. They are used to impart scent to linen, dresses, etc.—To reduce the volatility of perfumes, they are fixed by adding so-called fixatives to the perfumes, which have the property of preserving the aroma for a longer time. Fixatives are products of both animal origin, for example, those produced by special glands (musk, civet, castoreum, etc.), and plant origin (benzoin resin, Tolu and Peruvian balsams, styrax, myrrh). In addition, synthetic fixatives are used: 1) artificial musk—a nitro derivative of isobutyltoluene, 2) benzyl benzoate, 3) cinnamyl and some others.—To perfumery articles also belong various smoking preparations: aromatic powders, candles, lacquers, paper, smoking vinegars and essences, which are not widely used at present. In the manufacture of the aforementioned preparations, aromatic resins, balsams, and essential oils are predominantly used as aromatic substances. The medical significance of P. is determined mainly by the use of perfumery preparations for the care of various parts of the body and for refreshing and purifying the air in living quarters. The essential oils, balsams, and resins contained in perfumes and colognes, in solid and liquid smoking preparations play a considerable role in this respect, as their antiseptic action has been proven experimentally. According to F. Reidenbach, the rotting of protein substances and the development of mold cease at the following concentrations of aromatic substances: eugenol—0.01%, vanillin—0.01%, heliotropin—0.01%, coumarin—0.01%, thymol—0.01%, thyme oil—0.06%. Eucalyptus and lavender oils have very strong antiseptic action. Fermentation ceases at the following concentration of essential oil in solution: thymol—1:3,000, rose and geranium oil—1:1,600, cinnamon oil—1:1,000, lemon oil—1:500, while purified carbolic acid has the same effect at a concentration of 1:200, and formalin at 1:2,000. On the other hand, the external use of perfumes and more often cologne for rubbing the body undoubtedly has great hygienic significance for body care due to the presence of ethyl alcohol in these liquids. In addition, perfumery preparations are also used as insecticides: the scent of eucalyptus and clove oils repels mosquitoes and gnats; lavender oil and anethole are used against lice; camphor and patchouli—against moths; acetic ether, alone or preferably in combination with any perfumes, is protection against flies. As for the hygienic requirements imposed on perfumery articles, they are provided for in the instruction of the People's Commissariat of Health on the release of hygienic means (see Cosmetics). The beginning of the production of perfumery materials dates to deep antiquity. Ancient Egyptians, when embalming the dead, used myrrh and other aromatic substances for washing the abdominal cavity of corpses after removing the internal organs from it. The famous aromatic incense of the Egyptians, called "Kyphi," contained aromatic substances—myrrh, calamus root, galangal root, etc. Fragrant substances were used by ancient Jews, Hindus, and later by Greeks and Romans; from the latter, Europeans borrowed the use and preparation of perfumery preparations, among whom the French began to use perfumery articles most extensively in the 17th century, after which the demand for perfumery materials constantly increased, and in the last 50-60 years P. has turned into a fairly significant branch of the chemical industry with hundreds of thousands of workers and a turnover of hundreds of millions of rubles.—In Russia before the revolution, the production of fragrant raw materials was limited to the cultivation of mint, anise, dill, and some others, and all P. was based on imported aromatic substances. In the reconstruction period in the USSR, attention was paid to our possibilities for developing the cultivation of essential oil plants in the Crimea and the Caucasus in the subtropical zone, and now experimental plantations of geranium, lavender, lemon balm, rose, etc. have been established there; in various regions of the USSR, the sowing of anise, mint, coriander, etc. has been increased, the products of which are items of export. As for the synthesis of aromatic substances, the production of some aromatic substances has been established at plants of the OMPC and other organizations; these questions are also being dealt with by the Mendeleev Institute in Moscow and some other institutions in the USSR.—The USSR's need for aromatic substances is expressed for 1932 at 1500 tons per year. The increasing needs of the population of the USSR and the possibilities of export require further development of the production of natural and artificial aromatic substances and perfumery articles. Professional hazards in perfumery production consist of the following: 1) with constant inhalation of aromatic substances, workers may experience irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and eyes; cases of general poisoning are also observed, manifested by nausea, headache, weakness, drowsiness. 2) In factory and laboratory premises where perfumery articles are produced by processing materials with alcohol, the atmosphere may be considerably saturated with alcohol, which has a harmful effect on the body.

Therefore, the premises of a perfumery production must have sufficient supply and exhaust ventilation. Lit.: Deyanov N., Nilov V. and Williams V., Essential oils, M.-L., 1930; Askinson and Parfumes and cosmetics, their preparation and manufacture, N. Y., 1915; Knoll R., Synthetische und isolierte Biechstoffe und deren Darstellung, Wien, 19u6; P i e s s e S., Histoire des parfums et hygiene de la toilette, Paris, 1905. See also the literature for the article Cosmetics.

I. Zelil'sn»