ELARSON OMITTED FROM N. N. R.

Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry

The Council has authorized publication of the following report announcing the omission of Elarson from New and Non­official Remedies.

W. A. Puckner, Secretary.

Elarson, now sold by the Winthrop Chemical Company, Inc., was formerly sold in the United States by the Bayer Co., Inc. It was admitted to New and Non­official Remedies in 1914.

The circular issued by the Winthrop Chemical Co. contains several statements markedly at variance with the results of an investigation made, at the request of Fischer, by Joachimoglu (Arch. f. exper. Path. u. Pharmakol. 78:1914). The circular states that Elarson contains about 13 per cent. arsenic. Joachimoglu found from 10.8 to 11.1 per cent. to be present. The circular states further:

“The fact that Elarson represents a lipoid-like chemical combination of arsenic has an important bearing upon its absorption and utilization in the system ... there is good reason to believe that when arsenic is administered in a stable, lipoid-like combination, as in Elarson, it is more readily taken up by the cells and more completely utilized than when given in the customary manner.”

“As regards the behavior of Elarson in the system, it has been shown that its active constituent, chlorarseno-behenol, is almost completely absorbed in this form, probably as a chlor-behenolate of sodium or potassium.”

As a matter of fact, Joachimoglu found that very little arsenic was absorbed when Elarson was given to dogs and rabbits; most of it was recovered from the feces; only traces were found in the liver and kidneys and none in the blood and brain. The absence from the latter organs shows that the lipoid solubility does not obtain in the body. It is claimed in the circular that Elarson has the advantage over Fowler’s solution “in that it is free from any irritating action upon the gastro-intestinal tract”; it is stated that as many as sixty tablets have been given to dogs daily without any toxic effects. Joachimoglu, on the other hand, found powdered Elarson to be very irritating to the gastro-intestinal tract; also that the dog could not stand sixty tablets at all (gar nicht vertragen), such doses causing vomiting, diarrhea and intestinal hemorrhages; on repeated administration the symptoms became progressively more severe. Joachimoglu also found that, compared on the basis of arsenic content, Elarson, given intravenously, is from ten to twelve times as poisonous as arsenic trioxid. Elarson is recommended for the class of cases in which Fowler’s solution is used.

To sum up: None of the special claims made for Elarson—the arsenic content, ready absorbability, freedom from irritating action on the gastro-intestinal tract and its alleged better adaptation for continued administration—have been substantiated; on the contrary, they have been disproved as well as the theory of its mode of absorption proposed by Fischer and Klemperer. Furthermore, Joachimoglu found that when it actually got into the circulation (intravenous injection) in the form in which Fischer and Klemperer supposed it to be absorbed, it was from ten to twelve times as toxic as arsenic trioxid.

The Council voted to omit Elarson from New and Non­official Remedies because it is sold under unproved and consequently unwarranted claims and because it is an unscientific and relatively useless article. Elarson has not been shown to have advantages over Fowler’s solution; on the contrary, in some respects at least, it is inferior.—(From Reports of Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, 1919, p. 75.)