May 15,1925 
Carbon Trichloride as an Anthelmintic 
953 
tions, and the glomeruli and tubular 
epithelium showed distinct alterations. 
As the kidneys of dogs commonly 
show pathologic conditions, little can 
be concluded from the findings here. 
That changes along these lines should 
occur in the case of dog No. 669, 
which was given carbon trichloride 
alone, suggests that the chemical had 
been absorbed to some extent in spite 
of its great insolubility, but as only 
one animal was examined in this con¬ 
nection not very much can safely be 
concluded from this case. It does 
establish the presumption that some 
carbon trichloride is absorbed and that 
it may affect the liver unfavorably. 
SUMMARY 
Experiments with carbon trichloride 
administered as coarse crystals in cap¬ 
sules, or as a fine powder in capsules 
followed or preceded by castor oil, or 
dissolved in castor oil, or dissolved in 
oil of chenopodium, or dissolved in car¬ 
bon tetrachloride, all indicate that 
carbon trichloride has no value as an 
anthelmintic. Since the high chlorine 
content of carbon trichloride would in¬ 
dicate, on theoretical grounds, that 
this chemical would be quite effective 
in removing hookworms, the failure of 
the chemical to display such efficacy 
in actual practice is correlated with the 
great actual and relative insolubility 
of the chemical, the lack of solubility 
maintaining the anthelmintic chlorine 
constituent in an unavailable condition. 
Considering the solubilities and effi¬ 
cacies of four chlorine compounds of 
the ethane and methane series, ar¬ 
ranged in the order of anthelmintic 
efficacy, with the most effective first, 
they are as follows: CC 1 4 , CHCI3, 
C2H4CI2, and CC1 3 . Their respective 
water solubilities are: 1 in 1,250; 1 in 
161; 1 in 120; 1 in over 10,000. The 
peak of anthelmintic efficacy is reached 
at a solubility of 1 :1,250 (carbon tetra¬ 
chloride). As the curve of anthel¬ 
mintic efficacy falls away on the side of 
increasing solubility, the efficacy de¬ 
creasing as the solubility increases, it 
does not appear to promise anything of 
value in the way of anthelmintic dis¬ 
covery to investigate chlorine com¬ 
pounds of these series which are more 
soluble than 1 : 1,250, although such 
investigations have considerable theo¬ 
retical interest. The anthelmintic effi¬ 
cacy falls to practically zero on the side 
of decreased solubility for the highly 
insoluble carbon trichloride. There is 
still the possibility that a chlorine com¬ 
pound of approximately the same 
chlorine content as carbon tetrachlo¬ 
ride, but slightly less soluble, might be 
safer if not more effective. Tetra- 
chlorethylene may be such a drug. 
Evidently carbon trichloride is too far 
in the direction of insolubility. Judg¬ 
ing from these experiments, carbon 
trichloride is so insoluble that its 
theoretically effective chlorine content 
is unavailable and ineffective. 
LITERATURE CITED 
(1) Bose, J. P., and Mukerji, A. K. 
1924. LIVER FUNCTION TESTS AND CARBON TETRA¬ 
CHLORIDE. Indian Med. Gaz. 59: 127-130, 
illus. [Abstract in Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc. 
82: 1572. 1924.] 
(2) Caius, J. F., and Mhaskar, K. S. 
1920. THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE CHEMICAL 
COMPOSITION OF ANTHELMINTICS AND THEIR 
THERAPEUTIC VALUES IN CONNECTION WITH THE 
HOOKWORM INQUIRY IN THE MADRAS PRESI¬ 
DENCY. vni. chloroform. Indian Jour. Med. 
Research 8: 379-383. 
(3) —-and Mhaskar, K. S. 
1921. AN INQUIRY INTO THE CORRELATION BE¬ 
TWEEN THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AN¬ 
THELMINTICS AND THEIR THERAPEUTIC VALUES 
IN CONNECTION WITH THE HOOKWORM INQUIRY 
in the madras presidency. Indian Jour. 
Med. Research 8: 737-740. 
(4) Chopra, R. N., and McVail, J. B. 
1923. CARBON TETRACHLORIDE IN PHARMACOLOGY 
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451-463, illus. [Abstract in Trop. Diseases Bui. 
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(5) Hall, M. C. 
1918. A DISCUSSION OF SOME PRINCIPLES OF AN¬ 
THELMINTIC medication. New Orleans Med. 
and Surg. Jour. 70: 637-653. 
( 6 ) - 
1921. CARBON TETRACHLORID FOR THE REMOVAL 
OF PARASITIC WORMS, ESPECIALLY HOOKWORMS. 
Jour. Agr. Research 21: 157-175. 
(7) - and Shillinger, J. E. 
1925. CRITICAL TESTS OF MISCELLANEOUS AN¬ 
THELMINTICS. Jour. Agr. Research (1924) 29: 
313-332. 
(8) -and Shillinger, J. E. 
1925. tetrachlorethylene, a new anthel¬ 
mintic. Amer. Jour. Trop. Med. 5: 229-237. 
(9) Lamson, P. D., Gardner, G. H., Gustafson, 
R. K., Maire, E. D., McLean, A. J., and 
Wells, H. S. 
1923. THE PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY OF 
carbon tetrachloride. Jour. Pharm. and 
Exp. Ther. 22: 215-288, illus. 
(10) Peyre, E.-L. 
1924. LE TETRACHLORURE DE CARBONE DANS LE 
TRAITEMENTDE l’ankylostomiase. Bui. Soc. 
Path. Exotique 17: 145-146. 
(11) Wells, H. S. 
1925. A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE ABSORP¬ 
TION AND EXCRETION OF THE ANTHELMINTI3 
DOSE OF CARBON TETRACHLORIDE. Jour. 
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