BROMIN-IODIN COMPOUND
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry
“Bromin-Iodin Compound,” according to the Bromin-Iodin Chemical Company, San Diego, Calif., has the following “formula”:
| Iodin | Gr. | 1 |
| Bromin | Gr. | 1⁄4 |
| Phosphorus | Gr. | 1⁄100 |
| Thymol | Gr. | 2⁄3 |
| Menthol | Gr. | 2⁄3 |
| Sterilized Oil | Gr. | 1 |
The only statement regarding its method of preparation is the line “Solution in Cod Liver Oil, Norwegian.” According to the promoters, “Bromin-Iodin” is:
“A Powerful Anti-Tubercular Agent for Hypodermic Use in Pulmonary and Laryngeal Tuberculosis. Useful in other forms of Tubercular Diseases, and in Non-Tubercular Pulmonary Diseases of a Sub-Acute or Chronic Nature.”
The “formula,” in the form in which the manufacturers publish it, is either impossible or meaningless, according to the interpretation that may be given. It is impossible if it is intended to indicate the actual composition of the product because that would mean that the oil is alleged to contain free or uncombined iodin, bromin and phosphorus. Both on theoretical grounds and also in the light of the findings of the Chemical Laboratory of the American Medical Association, it is not possible that all these constituents can be present in the free state. The formula is meaningless if it is intended to convey the idea, merely, that iodin, bromin, phosphorus, thymol, menthol and sterilized oil are combined to form “Bromin-Iodin.” In the absence of any details of the method of manufacture, it is futile to attempt to pass judgment on the actual composition of the preparation.
The use of an almost identical product (said, however, to contain only 1⁄2 grain iodin to each fluidram) was described in 1908 by Dr. Ingraham of Binghamton, N. Y., in “Five Years Successful Experience with a Special Mode of Treating Pulmonary Tuberculosis.” In 1910 The Journal[99] characterized the preparation as “one of the innumerable ‘treatments’ for pulmonary tuberculosis that have arisen, had their day and, more or less gracefully, retired.” If the preparation had value for the purpose for which it is recommended, its use during these twelve years should have secured its general recognition. There is no satisfactory evidence of its therapeutic efficacy. The Council refused recognition to Bromin-Iodin Comp. and, after submitting this report to the Bromin-Iodin Chemical Company, authorized its publication.—(From The Journal A. M. A., Dec. 23, 1916.)