Oleum Pini Pumilionis. U. S. Oil of Dwarf Pine Needles.
Related entry: Oleum Abietis. Br. Oil of Siberian Fir.
Ol. Pin. Pumil. [Dwarf Pine Oil]
"A volatile oil distilled from the fresh leaves of Pinus montana Miller (Pinus Pumilio Haenke) (Fam. Pinaceae). Preserve it in well-stoppered, amber-colored bottles, in a cool place, protected from light." U. S.
Oleum Pini, Br., 1898; Oil of Pine; Pine Needle Oil; Latchenkieferöl, Krummholzöl, G.; Oleum templinum, Pumiline.
The British Pharmacopoeia 1898 replaced fir wood oil by making oil of pine official. This was largely due to the investigations of J. C. Umney (P. 3., 1895, 161, 173, 542), who found that the Pinus Pumilio (now recognized as P. montana Miller) (Mountain Pine) furnished an oil of fairly constant character and superior to that from the Pinus sylvestris (Scotch Fir) of the British Pharmacopoeia 1885. It was not included in the Br. 1914 but is recognized by the U. S. IX. It "is a colorless or faintly yellowish oil having a pleasant, aromatic odor, and a bitter and pungent taste. Specific gravity: 0.853 to 0.869 at 25° C. (77° F.). No portion of the Oil distils below 170° C. (338° F.)." It resinifies on exposure, and in medicinal qualities resembles oil of turpentine, but is milder. Pine oil contains laevopinene, laevo-phellandrene, sylvestrene, bornyl acetate, and in the last portions of the distillate, cadinene. (Gildemeister and Hoffmann, Aetherische Oele, p. 338.) It is supposed that the pine oil owes its odor to the presence of the acetic ester of borneol, which is ordinarily present to the amount of about 3.5 per cent., and Schimmel & Co. (Schim. Rep. for Oct., 1897) found in a sample of American fir oil as much as 12.1 per cent.
Uses.—In medicine it may be employed for many of the purposes for which oil of turpentine has been used. As an expectorant in chronic bronchitis it may be administered by the mouth but is especially prized as an inhalant because of its pleasant odor. For this purpose a few drops may be placed in boiling water and the vapors inhaled. It has also been employed internally in the treatment of chronic rheumatism.
The leaves of the Pinus sylvestris, with those of other European firs and pines, by pounding are converted into a fibrous substance, known as fir wool (Fichtenwolle), which is much used in Germany as a local application in chronic rheumatism, the affected part being enveloped in a thick batting of the fir wool, which is also sometimes made into clothing for rheumatic persons. An extract of the leaves is also sold under the name of fir wool extract, for use in rheumatism.
Dose of oil of pine needles five to ten minions (0.3-0.6 mil).
