Commercial and scientific notes on essential oils. 51 



constants:— diso 0.9945; « D + 1.3°; soluble with turbidity in 10 vol. 70 per cent, alcohol. 

 The odour of this oil reminded of anethole and eucalyptole; the comparison with the 

 genuine American wormseed oil which has quite different constants left no doubt that 

 this artificial product has nothing whatever to do with the natural oils, and that it did 

 not contain the active constituent of the genuine oil, ascaridole. 



D. A. Roth 1 ) applied the American wormseed oil in more than 100 cases of uncinariasis 

 and observed in 30 per cent, of the cases concomitant effects, such as giddiness, sick 

 feeling, vomiting, headache, deafness and general depression. In more than 20 per cent, 

 of these cases the deafness 2 ) was more or less severe, and in the case of four patients 

 it persisted after two years. The application of thymol did not cause similar phenomena. 

 The author, therefore, warns against applying wormseed oil to highly-anaemic persons. 

 The medication should not be repeated before the expiration of ten days. A blood 

 test and a determination of the contents of haemoglobin would further be advisable. 



A serious case of ascaridiasis with ileus, which was not to be cured by santonin, 

 was effectively treated by Steber 3 ) by applying three times a day eight drops of American 

 wormseed oil and subsequently castor oil. 



We have repeatedly discussed cases of poisoning by American wormseed oil 4 ). An 

 extensive memoir on this subject has recently been published by A. Preuschoff 5 ). The 

 numerous experiments with this oil made on animals had already proved that this 

 remedy is not free of danger and may prove fatal, if applied in too large quantities. 

 Within the years 1851 to 1919 24 cases of poisoning had been observed in 9 adults 

 and in 15 children; of these five grown-up people and nine children died. In many 

 cases the accidents were to be traced to the fact that the usual doses for worms had 

 much been exceeded. Frequently, moreover, the improper way of applying the worm 

 cure was responsible for the injury; sometimes the patients had already been weakened 

 by other illnesses, or the wormseed oil had been applied mixed with other essential oils 

 (oil of turpentine), or it had been applied without the addition of aperients. Idiosyncrasy 

 must by considered a third cause for poisoning by wormseed oil. 



The adulteration of the oil with other oils, about which nothing is known in the 

 cases just mentioned, may have serious consequences. Experiments made on animals have 

 proved that already small doses of anise, rosemary and lavender oils may prove fatal. 



In the opinion of the author the American wormseed oil need not be eliminated 

 from our lists of remedies. Cases of poisoning would, it may safely be stated, be 

 impossible if the oil were applied strictly according to the injunctions of Briining 6 ). 



Wormwood Oil. — As regards Spanish wormwood oil see page 82 of this Report. 



Ylang-Ylang Oil.— As regards Ylang-Ylang oil from the Philippines, see page 84 

 of this Report. 



2 ) Southern Medical Journal, November 1918; Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene No. 1 (1918), 16. 

 From E. Merck's Jahresbericht 31 to 32 (1917/18), 364. — 2 ) Ct Report 1919, 62. — 3 ) Deutsche med. Wochenschr. 

 No. 33 (1917), 1040. From E. Merck's Jahresbericht 31 to 32 (1917/18), 364. — *) Cf. Report October 1915, 43; 

 1919, 62. — B ) Zeitschr. f. exp. Pathologie u. Therapie 21 (1920), No. 3, p. 1. Reprint was kindly sent to 

 us. The oil is not obtained, as the author writes, only from the fruit of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. var. 

 anthdminticum Gray, but from the whole plant. — 6 ) Cf. Report 1920, 61. 



4* 



