USEFUL ALGAE CHASE 433 



Carrageen is still used in localities of Ireland for the treatment of 

 pulmonary distress. Its jelly is also the acting principle in a poultice 

 which consists of a piece of cotton filled with Irish moss jelly and 

 then dried. It enters into the composition of a number of European 

 pharmaceutical emulsions, in particular, the emulsion of cod-liver 

 oil, which consists of 325 cc. of a 3-percent decoction of Irish moss, 

 500 cc. of oil, 500 cc. of sirup of tolu, and water sufficient to complete 

 the liter. 



Irish moss has also been used as veterinary medicine for nourishing 

 cows, and has been found useful in rearing pigs and calves. 



Algin, a product of kelp which is described in more detail in the 

 section on algae as cosmetics, is of great value in the pharmaceutical 

 field where its pronounced colloidal properties render it useful as an 

 emulsifying, bodying, and suspending agent. Because of its superior 

 qualities, it replaces tragacanth and other natural gums in the manu- 

 facture of greaseless lubricating jellies. It is a component of sulf an- 

 ilimide ointment and other similar ointments. Iron alginate is used 

 as a hematinic. 



The United States Dispensatory lists Gigartina mamiUosa as having 

 chemical and medicinal properties that are probably identical with 

 Chondrus crispus. 



Helminal, according to the The United States Dispensatory, is an 

 extract said to be derived from Digenea simplex^ a red alga that 

 grows on the eastern coasts of Asia. This plant is dried and sold by 

 the Japanese and Chinese apothecaries. Its extract has been gener- 

 ally regarded as a valuable infantile remedy, but it is not as popular 

 as formerly although it still is used in the provinces among the 

 country people as a vermifuge. It is efficient in the treatment of 

 Ascaris and Oxyuris. It is also nontoxic. It is sometimes sold in 

 the form of tablets. 



Until the end of the eighteenth century, two vermifuges of two 

 calcareous algae. Coralline o-fficinalis L. and Coralline ncben L. were 

 popular as vermifuges. Their usage was discontinued when a Greek 

 doctor named Stephanopoli discovered a small alga on the island of 

 Corsica in 1775. He called this alga Corsican moss. This alga grew 

 in red tufts on the rocks of Corsica when the sea was low and very 

 calm. It was thought to be the same alga that was used as a vermi- 

 fuge by the ancient Greeks. Corsican moss was in great demand as 

 it effected a very rapid cure. The military hospitals used it with 

 great success and it was long an article of commerce under the name 

 of Corsican moss. The scientists had a great deal of difficulty in 

 naming this alga. Kiitzing identified it as Alsidium helminthochorton. 



In China, a mixture of algae including 1 Enteromorpha, 1 Chor- 

 daria, and 7 Floridees were used as a vermifuge so that it is not 



