UNCTOL

Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry

Unctol, sold by the R. R. Rogers Chemical Company, San Francisco, is a paste stated to contain approximately 40 per cent. of metallic mercury in a soap base. It is claimed that a part of the mercury is “precipitated mercury” and a part “mechanically comminuted mercury.” Unctol is sold as a substitute for mercurial ointment and is to be rubbed into the skin with the aid of water. The claim is made for Unctol that “It is more active than blue ointment because the mercury in it (40 per cent.) is more finely divided and the lathering still further subdivides the mercury particles and hence promotes absorption.”

No evidence was presented to the Council in support of the claimed superior efficacy of mercury soap paste over the official mercurial ointment. On the other hand, a consultant of the Council who has studied the absorption of mercury and mercury compounds, when applied to the skin, reported that he had used mercury preparations in which soap was the base, and that in his opinion Unctol could have no advantage over the official mercurial ointment from the standpoint of therapeutic effect. Moreover, the Council is advised that some trials with Unctol at the skin clinic of Leland Stanford University Junior School of Medicine did not confirm the claim that Unctol is more active than mercurial ointment.

The Council declared Unctol inadmissible to New and Non­official Remedies because: 1. The claim of superiority over mercurial ointment is not substantiated, and constitutes an unwarranted therapeutic claim (Rule 6). 2. The name does not indicate the composition of this pharmaceutical mixture (Rule 8). 3. The circular wrapped with the trade package advertises proprietary preparations not accepted by the Council (Rule 4).—(From Reports of Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, 1917, p. 162.)