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Camphor


A white crystalline cyclic ketone, C₁₀H₁₆O; r.d. 0.99; m.p. 179°C; b.p. 204°C. It was formerly obtained from the wood of the Formosan camphor tree, but can now be synthesized. It exists in the optically active dex­tro and levo forms, and as the racemic mixture of the two forms. The principal form is dextro-camphor, which occurs in the wood and leaves of the camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora). Camphor is also synthesized commercially on a large scale from pinene which yields mainly the racemic variety. 

Camphor has a characteristic odor; it crystallizes in thin plates and sublimes readily at ordinary temperatures. 

Camphor has use in liniments and as a mild rubefacient, analgesic, and antipruritic. It has a local action on the gastrointestinal tract, producing a feeling of warmth and comfort in the stomach. It is also used in photographic film and as a plasticizer in the manufacture of plastics.