The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2

by Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry

CELERINA, ALETRIS CORDIAL AND KENNEDY’S PINUS CANADENSIS, LIGHT AND DARK

Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry

The following reports on products of the Rio Chemical Company have been submitted by a referee. The Council recommends that they be published, as the preparations discussed are glaring instances of nostrums exploited through physicians on unscientific claims and false representations.

W. A. Puckner, Secretary.

Celerina

Celerina belongs to what Samuel Hopkins Adams calls the “bracer” type of nostrum. According to the label it contains 42 per cent. alcohol (whisky contains about 50 per cent.). The other ingredients of Celerina are declared to be as follows:

“Each fluidounce represents Forty grains each Kola, Viburnum, Forty-eight grains Celery, Twenty grains Cypripedium, Sixteen grains Xanthoxylum and Aromatics.

“Dose—1 or 2 teaspoonfuls 3 times a day.”

Kola contains a very small percentage each of caffein and theobromin. It is impossible for the infinitesimal amounts of these alkaloids in an ordinary dose of Celerina to produce any physiologic effect.

Viburnum has been called a “uterine sedative,” whatever that may be. Its only real activity is the psychic one due to its taste and odor.

Celery at one time was credited with being both an antispasmodic and a nerve stimulant—​a remarkable combination of opposing qualities! Scientific investigation has failed to show that celery has any physiologic or therapeutic activities. If it had the slightest medicinal value, the rational course would be to prescribe it in its fresh and natural state. The small dose contained in a teaspoonful of Celerina is inappreciable and not even equivalent to that contained in a stalk of celery.

Ladyslipper, more imposing under the Latin name of “cypripedium,” is a flowering plant with a legendary reputation as an “antispasmodic and nerve stimulant.” It has been in the therapeutic scrap-heap for years. It contains a little tannic acid, gallic acid and a volatile oil. Even a tannic acid action cannot be expected from a teaspoonful of a preparation containing 20 grains of ladyslipper to the ounce.

Prickly ash (xanthoxylum) has never been shown to have any activity other than that of a local irritant, especially to mucous membranes. The slight “bite” from this drug would be entirely covered up by the alcohol in Celerina. Any stimulating effect which this drug may have on the stomach is greatly inferior to that produced by a very small glass of ordinary ginger ale.

In short, there is no ingredient in Celerina, except the alcohol, that has any recognizable activity; and the alcohol content is nearly as great as that of ordinary whisky. Some of the claims and recommendations for this nostrum are:

“Celerina (Nerve Tonic), for Nervousness, Hysteria, Insomnia, Nervous Indigestion, Languid and Debilitated Conditions, Recovery from Alcoholic Excess.”

Think of prescribing an alcoholic nostrum four times a day to promote recovery from alcoholic excess!

“NEURASTHENIA: The bane of the general practitioner; the puzzle of the neurologist; the juicy fruit of the quack and faddist; the opportunity of the intelligent therapist.... For the medical treatment CELERINA is the preparation of wide utility.”

The sang froid with which the exploiters of this nostrum refer to other “quacks and faddists” as reaping “juicy fruit” from neurasthenics would command admiration were it not so pitiful.

“Celerina has substantial endorsement in nervous disorders characterized by Aphonia (nervous).”

Of course, the disappearance of nervous aphonia might follow the application of any treatment whatever, be it Eddyism, Chiropractic, Peruna or Celerina.

In

“CLIMACTERIC (the Menopause) flattering results have been reported from a combination of equal parts Celerina and Aletris Cordial Rio.”

“Teaspoonful doses after meals and upon retiring have proven efficacious [in “dyspepsia”] when other remedies have failed.”

Here is a good example of proprietary-house therapeutics: Such widely different conditions as digestive trouble and the climacteric are to be treated with a combination of alcohol, simple bitters and aromatics! Why not order a cocktail under its own name? It would be equally efficacious, less mysterious and its dangers might be better realized!

“A teaspoonful or two in three tablespoonfuls of boiling hot water [for insomnia] upon retiring.”

Any other hot toddy at bedtime (and it need not cost a dollar a bottle) might give relief; but the intelligent physician to-day recognizes the danger of prescribing alcohol in such conditions.

“In the case of brain workers who suffer from nervous excitability and mental fatigue, the administration of Celerina in teaspoonful doses, three times a day and at bedtime, rapidly controls the condition and increases mental capacity.”

And the same effect follows its use:

“In cases involving worry, anxiety, overwork, and excesses of various kinds....”

Moreover:

“Celerina is the most prompt and efficient of remedies for devitalized or broken-down constitutions—​doses four times a day.”

The statement made by its manufacturers that this preparation is free from narcotics or habit-forming drugs is not true. Alcohol is both a narcotic and a habit-forming drug.

As in the case of other nostrums containing no potent drugs but alcohol, Celerina is recommended for various diseased conditions in combination with a familiar form of treatment by drugs of more or less value. The physician who thoughtlessly prescribes one of these combinations will without doubt unthinkingly attribute any subsequent improvement to the Celerina. Thus, for malaria, a prescription of quinin and Celerina is advised; for chorea in children, arsenic with Celerina; in “Convalescence from La Grippe,” strychnin sulphate, Fowler’s solution, and Celerina; for impotence, nux vomica, dilute phosphoric acid and Celerina. In none of these conditions would Celerina affect favorably anything except the pockets of the exploiters; in some, as in the chorea of children, the alcohol would be positively detrimental. Of course, the value of such prescriptions (so far as they have any apart from the fictitious value lent by the alcohol) resides altogether in the standard drugs prescribed with Celerina.

There is no possible excuse for writing a prescription for Celerina, either in original package or mixed with well-known or valuable drugs. The sooner it is realized that this preparation has no place in medicine, should never be prescribed by physicians and is essentially nothing but alcohol and bitters exploited under a fancy name, the better for the public health and the science of medicine. The continued sale and use of Celerina is a disgrace to the medical profession.

Aletris Cordial

Aletris Cordial is a nostrum containing therapeutically worthless drugs in alcohol (28 per cent.).

The “formula” on the label reads:

“Each fluidounce represents ten grains Aletris, thirty grains Helonias and thirty grains Scrophularia.”

At one time these drugs had some vogue, chiefly as domestic remedies. They have been discarded as valueless by modern scientific medicine.

Aletris, or unicorn root (Aletris farinosa), contains a bitter principle and starch. The remarkable uterine tonic properties formerly ascribed to it have not been confirmed by reliable observers. It is practically worthless.[17]

Helonias, or false unicorn (Chamaelirium luteum), is asserted to be a hemostatic and uterine tonic. No trustworthy evidence has ever been offered in support of the claims made for this drug; reliable medical literature contains no reference to it; it has no valid claim on the attention of physicians.[18]

Scrophularia, or figwort (Scrophularia marilandica), contains a principle which has a digitalis-like action on the heart. Its activity is so slight in comparison with that of digitalis, however, that there was nothing to be gained by studying it. The drug is consequently little known and is not mentioned in critical works on pharmacology. If the drug were therapeutically active in the quantities used, another danger would be added to that of the alcohol content of Aletris Cordial. Since the recommended dose (a teaspoonful) contains, if the formula be correct, only about 4 grains of figwort, this drug too may be regarded as practically inert in this preparation.

Not one of these drugs has been deemed worthy of mention in the Pharmacopeia. The Council has previously discussed them and declared them valueless (Reports Council Pharm. and Chem., 1909, p. 146; 1910, p. 10; 1912, p. 42).

In Aletris Cordial, then, there is no ingredient capable of producing any other effect than the alcohol stimulation and such psychic effect as may be due to the bitter taste. Yet physicians are asked to believe that

“Probably no remedy is so uniformly successful in the prevention of threatened miscarriage as ALETRIS CORDIAL Rio.”

“HABITUAL MISCARRIAGE can be effectually overcome by the systematic use of Aletris Cordial Rio.”

“... regulates the local circulation and imparts normal tone and strength to the uterine muscle.”

“The use of Aletris Cordial Rio throughout pregnancy goes far to assure normal, uncomplicated labor.”

Such claims as these, when made for a mixture containing no therapeutically active constituent except alcohol, are absolutely preposterous. It should be noted that the declared alcohol content of Aletris Cordial is much higher than that of the strongest wines, and, in the light of medical experience, quite high enough to promote the formation of the alcohol habit in a steady user. The following recommendation, taken from the company’s “Budding into Womanhood” circular, therefore, is outrageous:

“Many medical practitioners recommend to mothers the use of Aletris Cordial Rio for their growing daughters, ranging in age from twelve to eighteen years....”

It is to be hoped that no medical practitioner is so heedless of consequences as to prescribe for adolescent girls a worthless nostrum capable of creating a craving for alcohol. The temperance societies might with profit take steps to inform laymen, especially women, concerning the worthlessness of this nostrum, the risk involved in taking it, and the outrageous character of the recommendations made for it by the manufacturers.

Kennedy’s Pinus Canadensis, Light and Dark
(Abican and Darpin)

Kennedy’s Pinus Canadensis, Light (recently renamed “Abican”) and Dark (renamed “Darpin”) are also exploited by the Rio Chemical Company. Although they have been on the market some thirty or forty years they appear to have achieved no marked degree of commercial success. Yet they have been imitated by most of the pharmaceutic houses. They are of interest chiefly through the barefaced fraud involved in their exploitation.

COMPOSITION CLAIMED

Apparently the dark preparation (“Darpin”) was first put on the market; then the light one (“Abican”) was offered, to be used only “as an injection and externally.” The reason for the existence of the light preparation evidently was the objectionable property of the dark, which stained linen. The two preparations are both said to be extracts of Pinus Canadensis or hemlock bark. A circular issued some years ago contained the following statement:

“Pinus Can. (Ken.)—Dark—A non-alcoholic extract of Pinus Canadensis, to each fluidounce of which is added 0.48 grains Thymol.

“Pinus Can. (Ken.)—Light—A non-alcoholic extract of Pinus Canadensis, to each fluidounce of which is added 24 grains each of pure Alum Potash and Sulphate of Zinc and 0.48 grains of Thymol.”

The labels on the packages of the light and dark preparations sent out to-day bear, respectively, only the following references to composition, the first on the dark and the second on the light:

“Each fluidounce also contains 0.48 grains Thymol.”

“A non-alcoholic preparation of Pinus Canadensis, to which is added twenty-four grains each pure alum potash and sulphate of zinc and 0.48 grains thymol to the fluidounce.”

ACTUAL COMPOSITION

“Darpin” or Kennedy’s Pinus Canadensis, Dark, does contain tannin, but, as the simplest of chemical tests demonstrate, Pinus Canadensis, Light, does not contain tannin. It might as truthfully be called maple syrup or beef tea.

It is almost a work of supererogation to discuss the therapeutic claims made for preparations sold under false pretenses as to composition. It is enough to mention that Kennedy’s Pinus Canadensis, Dark or Light, is recommended in

Albuminuria	Hemorrhage from the Nose
Diarrhea-Dysentery	Uterine Hemorrhage
Fetid Perspiration	Leucorrhea
Endometritis	Nasal and Pharyngeal Catarrh
Fissures	Piles
Fistula	Sore Throat
Gonorrhea	Ulceration of the Cervix

The intelligent physician of to-day knows that his forefathers in the days of the stage-coach employed tannic acid in its crude form and treated intestinal disease in a very unsatisfactory manner; he knows, further, that advances in our knowledge of pathology have rendered the use of tannic acid in gastro-intestinal therapeutics largely unnecessary and that when it is used it should be in some form that will pass the stomach unchanged. So far as its use as local application is concerned, he knows, without need of instruction from the Rio Chemical Company, when tannin is indicated, and the Pharmacopeia furnishes a suitable preparation for the physician so that he need not resort to an unscientific nostrum like Darpin.

The physician who is competent to treat a case of gonorrhea does not need to be told that alum and zinc sulphate may be useful in such conditions, and he does not want them palmed off on him for something else under the name of Pinus Canadensis, Light, Abican or what not. Also, he prefers to use them, when they are needed, singly and in strength suited to the conditions of the individual case.

[Editorial Comment.—Celerina, Aletris Cordial and Kennedy’s Pinus Canadensis, Light and Dark, appear to be the entire output of the Rio Chemical Company, which was one of the earliest of the various companies organized by James J. Lawrence of Medical Brief fame. The business was moved from St. Louis to New York City in 1901. According to what we believe to be reliable information, the Rio Chemical Company is now composed of James P. Dawson, president; William W. Conley, vice-president and treasurer; and E. D. Pinkerton, secretary. These also constitute the directors. It appears that James P. Dawson is a member of the law firm of Dawson and Garven, St. Louis; E. D. Pinkerton is said to be Miss Effie D. Pinkerton, stenographer for Dawson and Garven. We know little concerning William W. Conley except that he appears to be in charge of the establishment in New York. We find no evidence that he is either a chemist or a pharmacist; his name does not appear in the membership list of the American Chemical Society or of the American Pharmaceutical Association, nor can we discover that he has published anything in the way of chemistry or pharmacy. As a matter of fact, the Rio Chemical Company is another of the pseudo-chemical companies created to exploit one or more proprietaries—​in this instance Celerina, Aletris Cordial and Pinus Canadensis. The following medical journals carry advertisements of the Rio products (or did late in 1914): American Journal of Surgery, American Medicine, Denver Medical Times and Utah Medical Journal, Eclectic Medical Journal, International Journal of Surgery, Interstate Medical Journal, Massachusetts Medical Journal, Medical Brief, Medical Century, Medical Council, Medical Review of Reviews, Medical Sentinel, Medical Standard, Texas Medical Journal and Woman’s Medical Journal.].​—(From The Journal A. M. A., Feb. 13, 1915.)

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