The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry (American Medical Association)
Science
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2
Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry (American Medical Association)
Patent medicines
The Council has voted that recognition be refused to the following:
Unicorn Root (_Aletris farinosa_), Wild Yam (_Dioscorea villosa_), and
Wild Indigo (_Baptisia tinctoria_) and has authorized the publication
of the following statements.
W. A. Puckner, Secretary.
Unicorn Root--Aletris Farinosa
Unicorn Root (_Aletris farinosa_) contains a bitter principle and
starch. Remarkable powers as a uterine tonic have been ascribed
to it but have not been realized by reliable observers, the drug
being practically valueless in these conditions. It enters into the
composition of a number of nostrums. As a bitter it is superfluous and
it should not be included among non-official drugs.
Wild Yam--Dioscorea Villosa
Wild Yam (_Dioscorea villosa_) has been little used in medicine.
It contains a saponin and an acrid resin, and is said to possess
expectorant, diaphoretic and--in large doses--emetic properties. It
has been recommended as a remedy in biliary colic and in muscular
rheumatism. Its value in such conditions has not been verified to an
extent entitling it to consideration as a useful remedy.
Wild Indigo--Baptisia Tinctoria
Wild Indigo (_Baptisia tinctoria_) has been in use--chiefly by the
eclectics--for about three-quarters of a century, but there is no
satisfactory evidence that it has any therapeutic value. The following
text-books on pharmacology do not even mention wild indigo: Cushny,
Brunton, Dixon, Binz, Sollmann. It is not official in the United States
or other leading pharmacopeias.
A preparation of wild indigo is advertised with extravagant claims
for its therapeutic action, but these claims are not supported by any
substantial evidence. Other virtues ascribed to wild indigo are its
properties as a cardiac and hepatic stimulant and its value in sepsis,
particularly in typhoid fever. It actually has emetic and cathartic
properties, but even these are inferior to those possessed by many
other drugs.
It is very evident that a drug possessing the extraordinary merits that
have been claimed for wild indigo would not have remained unnoticed by
the leading authorities on pharmacology and therapeutics, especially
after its prolonged use in medicine. Owing, therefore, to the lack of
substantial evidence of its usefulness, baptisia is not considered
as of sufficient importance to warrant its inclusion in the list of
non-official drugs. It is probably entirely superfluous.--(_From The
Journal A. M. A., Jan. 22, 1910._)
PROPRIETARY VANADIUM PREPARATIONS
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry on Products of
Vanadium Chemical Co.: Vanadiol, Vanadioseptol,
Phospho-Vanadiol, Vanadoforme, etc.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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