Pharmacognosical description of wool fat and bees wax(lipid)

1. ASSIGNMENT
on the topic
Wool fat and Bees wax
Prepared by-
Neelabh Kashyap
B.Pharm 7th semester
Roll no: 9
Dept. of pharmaceutical Sciences
DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY

2. WOOL FAT(lanolin)
BIOLOGICAL SOURCE:
Hydrous wool fat is the purified fat like substance
obtained from the wool of Ovies aries Linn.
Family: Bovidae.
GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE:
Lanolin is commercially manufactured in Australia,
U.S.A. and to a very less extent in india..

3. METHOD OF PREPARATION:
• Raw wool contains 31% wool fibres, suint or wool
sweat(chemically potassium salts of fatty acids), 32% earthy
matter and 25% wool grease or crude lanolin.
• Crude lanolin is separated by washing with sulphuric acid or
suitable organic solvent or soap solution.
• It is further purified or bleached
• The product is known as anhydrous lanolin or wool fat
• Hydrous wool fat prepared by mixing anhydrous product with
30% water.

4. DESCRIPTION:
• Colour - whitish-yellow
• Odour - faint and characteristic
• Taste - bland
• Solubility - insoluble in water
- soluble in chloroform and solvent ether
STANDARDS(Anhydrous lanolin)
• Melting point: 34 to 44 degree celsius
• Acid value: not more than 1
• Iodine value: 18-36
• Saponification value: 90-105
• Peroxide value: not more than 20

5. CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS:
• It contains mainly esters of cholesterol and isocholesterol with
caranubic, oleic, myristic, palmitic, lanoceric and lanopalmitic
acids.
• It also contains 50% water.
IDENTIFICATION TEST:
• 0.5g wool fat in chloroform + 1ml acetic anhydride+ 2 drops of
sulphuric acid Deep green colour indicates the
presence of cholesterol.
USES:
• Used as water absorbable ointment base
• Used as a common ingridient and base for water soluble
creams and cosmetics.

6. BEES WAX
BIOLOGICAL SOURCE:
• It is obtained from the honey comb of the bees Apis mellifeca.
• Family: Apidae.
GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE:
• France, Italy, West Africa, Jamaica and India.

7. PREPARATION:
• The combs and cappingsof honeycomb are broken in water
and boiled in soft water.
• These are then enclosed in a porous bag weighed to keep
under water.
• The debris on the outer surface is removed b scrapping.
• Bees wax is purified by heating in boiling water or in dilute
sulphuric acid and settling.
• The process is repeated several times and finally wax is
skimmed off.

8. DESCRIPTION:
• Colour: yellow to yellowish brown
• Odour: agreeable and honey-like
• State: crystalline
• Solubility: insoluble in water
soluble in hot alcohol, ether, chloroform, carbon
tetrachloride, fixed and volatile oils.
STANDARDS:
• Melting point: 62 to 65 degree celsius
• Specific gravity: 0.958 to 0.967
• Acid value: 5 to 10
• Sap. Value: 90 to 103
• Ester value: 80 to 95

9. CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS:
• It contains straight chain monohydric alcohols with straight
chain acids.
• The chief constituent is Myrcin.
• It also contains free cerotic acid, melissic acid and cerolein.
TEST:
Saponification claud test: 0.5g bees wax+ 20ml aq caustic soda
Boil for 10 minutes
No turbidity is produced

10. USES:
• In preparation of ointments, plasters and polishes.
• Also used in the manufacturing of candles, moulds and in
dental and electronic industries.

11. REFERENCE
• KOKATE C.K., PUROHIT A.P. , GOKHALE S.B.;
“PHARMACOGNOSY”; PUBLISHED BY- NIRALI
PRAKASHAN, 46TH EDITION; PAGE NO-10.37,
10.35
• ALI.M; “TEXTBOOK OF PHARMACOGNOSY”;
PUBLISHED BY-CBS PUBLISHERS &
DISTRIBUTORS PVT. LTD. , 2ND EDITION; PAGE
NO-331,322 .