Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  j 
September,  19 17. 
Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
421 
in  supplementing  food  products  made  from  cereals  and  other  seeds 
whose  proteins  are  deficient  in  the  basic  amino-acids  (Jour.  Bio. 
Chem.,  vol  28,  77,  through  Jour.  Franklin  Institute.  July,  191 7,  p. 
120). 
Formaldehyde  for  Seed  Grain. — Dilute  solutions  of  formal- 
dehyde gas  are  said  to  be  very  effective  in  preventing  parasitic  dis- 
eases of  seed  grain  and  therefore  increasing  the  crop.  250  mils  of 
the  40  per  cent,  solution,  known  as  formalin,  diluted  to  make  160 
liters,  is  used  to  moisten  50  bushels  of  oats  or  other  grain.  It  is 
left  in  a  heap  for  3  hours  and  then  spread  out  to  dry.  Pharmacists 
in  rural  districts  would  do  well  to  call  this  matter  to  the  attention  of 
their  farmer  customers  (Bull.  Pharmacy,  31,  1917,  J.  E.  Taylor). 
Dulcin  as  a  Food  Sweetener  in  Germany. — Because  of  the 
scarcity  of  sugar  in  Germany  the  laws  forbidding  the  employment 
of  artificial  sweetening  substances  have  been  repealed.  And  in  lieu 
of  our  old  friend  "  saccharin "  they  are  using  a  new  synthetic  to 
which  has  been  given  the  names  "  dulcin  "  and  "  sucrol."  Chem- 
ically it  is  known  as  paraphenetolcarbamide.  Statements  are  made 
that  this  substance  is  absolutely  harmless  to  man  and  animals ;  it  is 
also  claimed  that  it  has  the  advantage  over  saccharin  in  that  it  has 
no  bitter  after  taste,  and  that  it  does  not  mask  natural  flavors.  It 
has  been  found  that  its  sweetening  strength  is  two  hundred  times 
that  of  sugar  (Chem.  Zeitung:  Chem.  Abstr.,  1917,  11,  999). 
Mercurophen. — This  chemical  is  stated  to  be  powerfully  ger- 
micidal and  of  great  use  as  a  local  antiseptic.  Chemically,  it  is  said 
to  be  sodium  oxymercuryorthonitrophenolate.  The  mercurial  con- 
tent is  said  to  be  53  per  cent.  This  compound  occurs  in  the  form 
of  a  brick-red  powder,  free  from  odor  and  very  soluble  in  water ; 
very  dilute  solutions  show  amber-yellow.  The  powder  is  easily 
made  into  compressed  tablets  which  dissolve  very  readily.  Against 
Staphylococcus  aureus  it  has  shown  itself  to  be  fifty  times  more 
active  than  mercuric  chloride,  killing  the  bacteria  on  prolonged  ex- 
posure in  bouillon  in  a  dilution  of  1-10,000,000.  It  claimed  to 
have  a  lower  toxicity  than  mercuric  chloride  (Jour.  Amer,  Med. 
Assoc.,  May  19,  1917). 
Digitalis  Ambigua. — Investigation  of  the  leaves  of  this  plant, 
which  grows  in  abundance  in  Austria,  seems  to  show  that  the  activity 
from  a  therapeutic  standpoint  is  on  a  par  with  that  of  the  normal 
leaves  of  Digitalis  purpurea.  If  this  is  so,  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  take  the  place  of  the  latter  (Chem.  Zeitung,  vol.  41, 
p.  99). 
