Discussion of Isolation of Trimyristin

From pure trimyristin, which was obtained from extraction, recrystallization and hydrolysis of nutmeg, myristic acid was synthesized in this lab. The yield of myristic acid is 34.5%.

    Recrystallization of trimyristin was processed twice and each melting point was recorded and observed. The tert-butyl methyl ether (3 mL) and nutmeg (1.000 g) were dissolved to obtain crude trimyristin that resulted in a 57.8% recovery yield (0.578 g). A 30.2% recovery yield, based on the original amount of nutmeg, was obtained from the trimyristin after the first recrystallization. The melting point of the first recrystallization was 53-54 ℃, which is 2℃ under the theoretical melting point. We can conclude from this that the product was relatively pure. A sample of trimyristin from the first recrystallization (0.167 g) was dissolved in a minimal amount of acetone in the second recrystallization in attempt to obtain a more pure product. A 49.1% recovery yield was obtained from the second recrystallization. The melting point recorded was 54-55℃, which is only 1℃ below the theoretical melting point and shows that the second recrystallized product is relatively pure.