Petrolatum Liquidum, Grave.—Heavy (Russian) Liquid Petrolatum.—Paraffinum Liquidum, B. P., liquid paraffin.—A transparent, colorless, tasteless, non-fluorescent, oily liquid, odorless when cold but giving off a faint petroleum odor on heating. This preparation should correspond to the requirements of the British Pharmacopeia for liquid paraffin and have a specific gravity of about 0.885 to 0.890 at 15 C. It is insoluble in water or alcohol but soluble in boiling absolute alcohol and readily soluble in ether, chloroform, carbon disulphid, petroleum benzin, benzene and fixed and volatile oils. It serves as a solvent for volatile oils and related substances like camphor, menthol and thymol.
This is the type of preparation used by Sir W. Arbuthnot Lane, and his associates for internal administration. It is also used as a basis for ointments and salves and as a local application to wounds, ulcers and in certain forms of skin diseases in which a simple protective is desired.
Petrolatum Liquidum, Leve.—Light (Russian) Liquid Petrolatum.—A transparent, colorless, tasteless, non-fluorescent, oily liquid, odorless when cold, but giving off a faint petroleum odor on heating. In other respects this preparation should correspond to the pharmacopeial tests for liquid petrolatum and have a specific gravity of about 0.860 to 0.875 at 15 C. Like the heavy variety of liquid petrolatum, it is insoluble in water and alcohol, but soluble in boiling absolute alcohol and rapidly soluble in ether, chloroform, carbon disulphid, petroleum benzin, benzene and fixed and volatile oils. It serves as a solvent for volatile oils and related substances like camphor, menthol and thymol.
This is a type of preparation extensively used as a vehicle for the oily sprays in nose and throat work. It is also being used as one of the constituents in the now popular paraffin oil cold cream and has been used to some extent for internal administration in the treatment of chronic stasis. Being more limpid than the preparation preferred by Lane, it is more readily taken, though greater care must be exercised in securing a sample devoid of the lighter fractions of petroleum distillates.—(From The Journal A. M. A., May 30, 1914.)
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH LIQUID PARAFFIN (LIQUID PETROLATUM) [AB]
A Comparative Investigation Made Under the Auspices of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry [AC]
W. A. Bastedo, M.D., New York
During the past three or four years, “mineral oil” has come into extensive use in the treatment of constipation. Preparations of the Russian and the American oil, both heavy and light, have appeared on the market, but there have been no satisfactory data on which to base a selection of oil for use. Therefore, in order to obtain reliable clinical information concerning the relative efficiency of the different oils, the Therapeutic Research Committee of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association submitted samples of the oils to various clinicians for testing. The following is a synopsis of the investigation, which I have prepared at the request of the committee.