11 



That salicylic acid should be singled out especially for condemnation 

 among preservatives does not seem to be justified by the data which 

 are presented and discus t in this bulletin. That it is a harmful sub- 

 stance, however, seems to be well established by the data taken as a 

 whole, but it appears to be a harmful substance of less virulence than 

 has been generally supposed. There is no doubt of the fact that 

 salicylic acid is a drug which is often indicated in diseases well estab- 

 list ed, and also perhaps in certain conditions which, while verging on 

 disease, might still be regarded as a state of health. But the adminis- 

 tration of salicylic acid as a medicine should be controlled exclusively 

 by the medical profession, and, while it is a remedy well established 

 in the Pharmacopoeia and especially prized for its effect upon rheu- 

 matism and gout, it does not seem that there should be any warrant 

 in this fact for its promiscuous use in foods, even if it were harmless. 



The data show very clearly that salicylic acid and salicylates 

 appear to exert an exciting influence upon the activities which take 

 place in the alimentary canal, stimulating the organs to greater effort, 

 and this stimulation leads at first to increased digestion and absorp- 

 tion of the foods which are introduced into the stomach. In the light 

 of the data which are exhibited salicylic acid may be said to increase 

 the solubility and absorption of the food in the alimentary canal, so 

 that larger parts of the nutrients taken into the stomach actually 

 enter the circulation. 



The data which show the effects just noted also indicate that the 

 general effect upon the system is depressing, in that the tissues are 

 broken down more rapidly than they are built up, and thus the normal 

 metabolic processes are interfered with in a harmful way. The 

 administration of the salicylic acid is attended by a gradual decrease 

 in the weight of the subjects, altho the quantity of food elements 

 administered during the preservative and after periods is slightly 

 increased, which fact, together with a greater degree of absorption of 

 the food elements, should have resulted in a slight increase in weight. 

 This increase in weight, however, does not occur, and the disturbing 

 influences of the salicylic acid upon metabolism, altho not very great, 

 are specifically demonstrated. 



The final conclusion in this matter, therefore, is that the unenviable 

 position which salicylic acid has heretofore held among preserva- 

 tives, in being regarded as the most injurious of all, is perhaps to a 

 certain extent undeserved. Like other ordinary preservatives, it is 

 not one which can be classed as a poison in the usual sense of the word. 

 When used as a medicine in many cases of derangement of health it is, 

 like the other chemical preservatives, often highly beneficial when 

 properly prescribed by a competent physician. It is, when used in 

 the food, at first an apparent stimulant, increasing the solubility and 

 absorption of the common food elements from the alimentary canal. 



