FUSEL OIL (from the Ger. Fusel, See also:

• BAD, BCD

bad See also:

• SPIRITS

spirits)  , the name applied to the volatile oily liquids, of a nauseous fiery See also:

• TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste and See also:

• SMELL (connected etymologically with " smoulder " and " smoke ")

smell, which are obtained in the rectification of spirituous liquors made by the See also:

• FERMENTATION

fermentation of See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain, potatoes, the See also:

• MARE

mare of grapes, and other material, and which, as they are of higher boiling point than See also:

• ETHYL

ethyl See also:

• ALCOHOL

alcohol, occur in largest quantity in the last portions of the distillate . Besides ethyl or See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary alcohol, and amyl alcohol, which are See also:

• PRESENT

present in them all, there have been found in fusel oil several other bodies of the C,H2„}1.OH See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series, also certain See also:

• ETHERS

ethers, and members of the C,H2,,+1.See also:

• CO2H

CO2H series of fatty acids . Normal propyl alcohol is contained in the fusel oil of the mare See also:

• BRANDY

brandy of the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south of See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France, and isoprimary butyl alcohol in that of See also:

• BEET

beet-See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root See also:

• MOLASSES

molasses . The See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief constituent of the fusel oil procured in the manufacture of alcohol from potatoes and grain, usually known as fusel oil and See also:

• POTATO
• POTATO (Solanum tuberosum)

potato-spirit, is isoprimary amyl alcohol, or isobutylcarbinol . Ordinary fusel oil yields also an isomeric amyl alcohol (active amyl alcohol) boiling at about 128° . Variable quantities of fusel oil, less or greater according to the See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage of ripening, exist in commercial See also:

• SPIRITS

spirits (see SPIRITS) . Fusel oil and its chief constituent, amyl alcohol, are See also:

• DIRECT

direct See also:

• NERVE (Lat. nervus, Gr. vevpov, a bowstring)

nerve poisons . In small doses it causes only thirst and headache, with furred See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue and some excitement . In large doses it is a convulsent See also:

• POISON

poison . Impure beverages induce all the graver neurotic and visceral disorders in alcoholism; and, like fusel oil, furfurol and the essence of See also:

• ABSINTHE

absinthe, are convulsent poisons . Pure ethyl alcohol See also:

• INTOXICATION (Lat. toxicare, intoxicare, to smear with poison, toxicum, an adaptation of Gr. 'r(*uK v, sc. ¢apµasov, a poison smeared on arrows; roEov, bow)

intoxication, indeed, is rarely seen, being modified in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of spirits by the higher See also:

• ALCOHOLS
• ALCOHOLS, ALDEHYDES AND
• ALCOHOLS, BENZYL ALCOHOL, BUTYL ALCOHOLS, METHYL ALCOHOL

alcohols contained in fusel oil . According to Rabuteau the toxic properties of the higher alcohols increase with their molecular See also:

• WEIGHT

weight and boiling point .

Richet considers that the fusel oil contained in spirits constitutes the chief danger in the See also:

• CONSUMPTION (Lat. consumere)

consumption of alcoholic beverages . The See also:

• EXPERT (Lat. expertus, from experiri, to try)

expert can immediately detect the peculiarly virulent characters of the mixed intoxication due to the consumption of spirits containing a large percentage of fusel oil .