There is practically no reference to this drug in reliable medical literature, and as there is no evidence worthy of credence to support the claims made for it, the drug was not considered deserving of a place in the Pharmacopeia. Hence, it may be regarded as a drug not worthy of attention of physicians.—(From The Journal A. M. A., Nov. 27, 1909.)
FORMUROL
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry
Formurol, Citrocoll and Aspirophen were submitted to the Council by the Cellarius Company of San Francisco. The manufacturers having failed to substantiate the claims they make for these products, the Council has voted that the preparations be refused recognition. The Council also authorized the publication of the following report, which deals particularly with one of the preparations—Formurol.
W. A. Puckner, Secretary.
Formurol is the product of the Chemische Fabrik Falkenberg, Falkenberg-Gruenau, near Berlin, Germany. The Cellarius Company, San Francisco, acting as selling agents for the United States, submitted Formurol (along with Aspirophen and Citrocoll, also made by the same firm) to the Council, with the statement that it is “hexamethylentetraminsodium-citrate,” and that it has the following composition: “C6H7O7Na.C6H12N4.”
Zernik,[46] who examined these products, reported that Aspirophen, Citrocoll and Formurol do not have the composition that is claimed for them by the Fabrik Falkenberg. Formurol, he states, is not a definite chemical compound, but a mixture of hexamethylenamin and sodium citrate. The agents were advised of this fact by the Council and were asked to submit evidence to substantiate their claims. No such evidence was submitted.
Since a compound having the composition that is claimed for Formurol is theoretically possible, the Council requested that the product be examined in the Association Laboratory to determine whether it still was the simple mixture reported by Zernik, or whether, perhaps, it now possessed the formula claimed for it. The following report was made by the Association chemists:
Formurol, as submitted to the Council, was in the form of tablets weighing about 1 gm. each and appeared to be composed of a fine white substance interspersed with some transparent particles. The tablets were readily soluble in water, were odorless and possessed a slightly acid taste. The aqueous solution responded to tests for hexamethylenamin, citrate and sodium. To determine whether hexamethylenamin was present in the free or the combined state, the method of Zernik was employed. This consists in the extraction of Formurol with chloroform, which dissolves out hexamethylenamin, leaving insoluble sodium citrate. As the use of the solvent, chloroform, would seem to preclude decomposition of such a hypothetical compound as “hexamethylenamin-sodium-citrate,” the extraction of hexamethylenamin from Formurol may be taken to demonstrate its presence in the free state.