Saccharine : the new sweet product from coal-tar 300 times the sweetening power of cane sugar a powerful antiseptic absolutely non-fermenting positively harmless to the human system / Wilson, Salamon & Co.

  • Wilson, Salamon & Co.
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Saccharine : the new sweet product from coal-tar 300 times the sweetening power of cane sugar a powerful antiseptic absolutely non-fermenting positively harmless to the human system / Wilson, Salamon & Co. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    microscopic examination is seen to possess a distinct crystalline character. It is intensely sweet, and if tasted in its pure state the delicacy oj its flavour is obscured, because, as the discoverer recently stated at the meeting of the British Association at Manchester, the intensity of sweet produces so acute an action upon the nerves of the tongue, that it tends to deaden their sensibility, just as too powerful a source of light will obscure rather than foster the power of vision. Indeed, saccharine should be regarded in the light of an essence, which re¬ quires diluting or embodying with other materials before its true value as a flavouring material can be made apparent. It is in this respect analogous to vanillin, another recently-discovered derivative of coal- tar, which is now rapidly superseding the natural vanilla as a flavour¬ ing material; and it is important to notice that the commercial suc¬ cess of this product appeared at one time to be in jeopardy, because it was employed in its pure and intense form, rather than in a sufficiently-diluted form of solution. It cannot, therefore, be too strongly urged that saccharine should not be tasted in the pure dry state with a view to institute comparisons, or judge of its adaptability for various purposes. Hence, it becomes of importance to find solvent media for saccharine, and fortunately these are conveniently to hand. In cold water it is but slightly soluble, in warm water somewhat more, and in boiling water it is sufficiently soluble for many practical purposes. The solubility of saccharine is greatly increased by neutralizing the fluid in which solution is effected; and, in many cases, convenient preparations may be effected with the aid of carbonate of soda or potash. When saccharine is introduced into a fluid containing more carbonates, carbonic acid gas is evolved, and the soda or potash salts of saccharine are formed. The latter taste almost equally sweet with saccharine, so that the alkaline carbonates form a very good medium for mixing with saccharine in the form of powder, with a view to ensure the solution of the latter when it is introduced into any re¬ quired fluid. Alcohol furnishes another good solvent for saccharine, and will probably be largely employed in connection with the use of saccharine