Reports of the Medical Society of the City of New-York on nostrums, or secret medicines.

Date:
1827
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports of the Medical Society of the City of New-York on nostrums, or secret medicines. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    This recipe was adopted by the compilers of the United States Pharmacopoeia, which was formed in 1820, by merely substituting liquorice root for the borage flowers. They also adopted a syrup of sarsaparilla and guaiacum, using equal quantities of these articles, with other ingre- dients analogous to those in the above recipe. Besides the above, there are other syrups of the same kind, which have been much in vogue in France, bearing the names of their inventors ; as the siiop de P'eltz, sirop de Mittie, sirop de Svclnos. and the rob de Laffecteur; each of which have had more or less of the same reputa- tion that the American syrups now claim. The rob de Laffecteur has far surpassed all the others in the high cha- racter it has long enjoyed, and it still continues to be greatly employed throughout France and her colonies. Even in this country, it would probably wholly supersede those that have sprung from it, were it not for the exorbitant price that is demanded for it.* This preparation was first offered to the public in 17G4, and is known to have been invented by Boiveau, a well instructed P'rench apothecary, who induced Laffecteur to attach his name to it as the in- ventor and proprietor ; doubtless, that he might be the bet- ter enabled to exert his influence and character in bring- ing it into notice. After it had been considerably emploj^- * The price of Laffecteur's rob in this country, is seven or eight dollars a bottle, ami as many cases require from eight to sixteen bottles to re-esta- blish the health, the expense of the article often becomes a hindrance to its g-cneral introduction into practice. The price of Swainj's preparation is three dollars, and some of the otlier syrups are sold at still less price. The actual cost of the medicine, as we have ascertained from frequent trial, pre- pared from the best materials, is about five shilling's for tlie same quantity ; which fact oug-ht to induce every practitioner, to encourage the apothecary to prepare it, by giving his article the preference. By this means the medi- cine would be brought within the ability of a considerable class of patients, who require its use, and arc unable to advance forty or fifty dollars for its purchase.