In view of the dangerous, unwarranted and absurd claims made for Maignen Antiseptic Powder the referee recommends that it be refused recognition, and that the Council declare its agreement with views expressed in the article “Maignen Pulv.” published in The Journal, Feb. 15, 1913, p. 537, particularly the following:
“The germicidal powers of strong alkalies have long been known, but the inconvenience of their application to tissues and mucous membranes has prevented their use. That they will be of service when sufficiently diluted not to irritate the tissues is improbable, for the antiseptic power of such solution is slight and the disinfectant value practically nil.”
Because the Maignen Institute has twisted the granting of U. S. patent No. 1,086,339 into a quasi-endorsement of the claims made for Maignen Antiseptic Powder it is recommended that a copy of this report be sent to the Commissioner of Patents as a protest against the present law, which authorizes the granting of patents on unproved and improbable medical claims.—(From The Journal A. M. A., Nov. 14, 1914.)
TYREE’S ANTISEPTIC POWDER[E]
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry with Comments
Tyree’s antiseptic powder was assigned for examination to a subcommittee of the Council, which made the following report:
To the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry:—Your subcommittee, to whom was assigned Tyree’s Pulv. Antiseptic Comp., marketed by J. S. Tyree, Washington, D. C., reports as follows: The label on the package states: “This preparation is a scientific combination of borate of sodium, alumen, carbolic acid, glycerin and the crystallized principles of thyme, eucalyptus, gaultheria and mentha, in the form of a powder,” etc.
The statement that the powder contains the crystalline principles of thyme, eucalyptus, gaultheria and mentha is vague and misleading, since the chief medical constituents of eucalyptus and gaultheria are liquids, but it tends to convey the impression that the powder contains the essential constituents of these drugs, namely, thymol, oil of eucalyptus or eucalyptol, oil of wintergreen, or methyl salicylate, and menthol.