At least two thirds of domestic cats "enjoy" the effects of Nepeta, a.k.a. "catnip." But do they enjoy it enough? If humans were able to isolate the active ingredient in catnip, could we not use it to become omnipowerful CATGODS? Imagine the possibilities! What fool wouldn't want their own personal cat army? A massive fuzzy force with which to execute your every bidding? A united, unquestioning militia that requires nothing other than unfettered access to the super-powerful catnip products that give their adorable cuddly lives meaning?
Nepetalactone is the active ingredient in catnip.* Today we are going to isolate nepetalactone in its pure form through a steam distillation. The distilled liquid will be extracted with an organic solvent (toluene), refined, then evaporated to give the final product.
Now I know what you're thinking: is it safe for cats to be around such a concentrated extract of catnip? Hell yes! Within reason. And we're all reasonable people. Pure nepetalactone has been studied on cats extensively. In fact, "catnip oil" that is available from botanical stores is essentially just nepetalactone, and it is widely used in homeopathic medicine. More details later.
Nepetalactone is the active ingredient in catnip.* Today we are going to isolate nepetalactone in its pure form through a steam distillation. The distilled liquid will be extracted with an organic solvent (toluene), refined, then evaporated to give the final product.
Now I know what you're thinking: is it safe for cats to be around such a concentrated extract of catnip? Hell yes! Within reason. And we're all reasonable people. Pure nepetalactone has been studied on cats extensively. In fact, "catnip oil" that is available from botanical stores is essentially just nepetalactone, and it is widely used in homeopathic medicine. More details later.
- Note: pure nepetalactone will not enable you to create a cat army.
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Signing UpStep 1: Crash course in steam distillation
If you've taken any chemistry laboratory classes, or if you have a background in moonshine production, then you know a thing or two about distillation. Heat something up to boiling, then collect the vapors by condensing them into another container. Steam distillation is the same principal and uses the same equipment. The only difference is that you distill something in the presence of water. Steam serves to volatilize certain chemicals, such that they co-boil with the water and can be collected along with the steam when it condenses.
This is particularly useful for extracting plant matter, where the steam serves double duty, breaking open cell walls and releasing volatile oils like nepetalactone. A standard apparatus that you would use in a chemistry lab is shown in the first picture below. Of course, we'll be doing this at home without access to fancy science gadgets.
For this catnip extraction, I've constructed a much simplified apparatus shown in the second picture. The catnip and water goes in the bottom of a big pot, with a cup placed on top. The lid is really the key component here; by simply turning the lid of the pot upside down, the vapors will condense and drip down from the center, collecting in the cup below. By filling the top of the lid with ice water, the vapors are condensed very efficiently.
This is particularly useful for extracting plant matter, where the steam serves double duty, breaking open cell walls and releasing volatile oils like nepetalactone. A standard apparatus that you would use in a chemistry lab is shown in the first picture below. Of course, we'll be doing this at home without access to fancy science gadgets.
For this catnip extraction, I've constructed a much simplified apparatus shown in the second picture. The catnip and water goes in the bottom of a big pot, with a cup placed on top. The lid is really the key component here; by simply turning the lid of the pot upside down, the vapors will condense and drip down from the center, collecting in the cup below. By filling the top of the lid with ice water, the vapors are condensed very efficiently.
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"Heisenpurr."
"You're Goddamn right."
That's science being used for utterly important purposes. :) Seriously, most nerdy/crazy scientist/resource overkill statement I heard the whole year (as if distilling catnip wasn't already overkill)
Btw, I would do the same if I had a mass spectometer laying around. I'm just envious. :]
This statement says to me that you aren't fully grasping how much fun you can have being entertained by super happy high cats. Twice as much diethyl ether would be worth half of the fun of seeing a cat fight his nemesis, a stuffed animal from a claw machine...
But seriously, cats love this stuff...
you can try heptane
Just wondering whether you could omit this step by including some base in the initial salt-out. I guess the nepetalate salt might emulsify the mixture a bit more but it would save the extra step and the losses in washing & drying again if you could avoid the separate washing step.
Just a thought.
I highly appreciate how clear your instructions are; I would have expected instructions for a distillery to have possibly a few steps that left me guessing what I'm supposed to actually do. Other guides I'd read (not on this site,) about getting an extract had this tendency to assume, "Okay, now that step 2 is done, you do the usual thing, and then it's time for step 4!" which left me going "wtf what happened to 3."
So again, thank you for making such a concise intructable. I'm planing on growing my own catnip, and this guide is going to come in handy a few months down the road...!
BLASTED!
I just love this title; can't stop laughing at it. I just keep reading it over and over.
:P
TRI HOLER!