The Council held that conflict with Rules 3, 6 and 8 prevented the acceptance of Nujol and authorized the publication of this report.—(From Reports of Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, 1916, p. 68.)
PULVOIDS NATRIUM COMPOUND
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry
Pulvoids Natrium Compound was submitted to the Council by the Drug Products Company, Inc., New York, with the statement that each pulvoid (coated tablet, said to be made to dissolve in the intestinal tract) represents the equivalent of:
| Potassium Nitrate | 21⁄2 | grs. |
| Sodium Nitrite | 1⁄2 | gr. |
| Sodium Bicarbonate | 2 | grs. |
| Fl. Ext. Crataegus Oxycantha | 1 | min. |
| Nitroglycerin | 1⁄250 | gr. |
According to the advertisements the tablets are “indicated in the treatment of high blood pressure and all forms of hypertension of the cardio-vascular system.” It is claimed that the tablets “will not irritate the kidneys.”
The Council, having submitted its objections to the manufacturer and considered the firm’s reply, held that Pulvoids Natrium Compound was inadmissible to New and Nonofficial Remedies for the following reasons:
1. The claim is made that the tablets disintegrate in the intestines; experiments conducted by the Council indicated that in most cases they would be broken up in the stomach. It was found that the tablets were visibly changed immediately after being put into gastric juice or even into distilled water; they disintegrated within from three to four hours, not only in gastric juice (obtained from a dog) at 37 C., but also in distilled water. It is quite usual for solids to remain in the stomach for more than three hours. If they make their way out of the stomach in less than that time the gastric movements must be so vigorous as further to hasten the disintegration of the tablets.