326 
Liquid  Petrolatum. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       July,  1914. 
pears  to  have  been  the  first  to  experiment  with  petrolatum  and  to 
determine  its  non-absorbability  from  the  intestinal  tract.  In  an 
article  2  in  1884  he  concludes  that  "  pure  petrolatum  while  entirely 
unirritating  to  the  digestive  tract  is  valueless  as  a  foodstuff." 
The  experiments  recorded  by  Randolph  were  evidently  prompted 
by  the  fact  that  vaseline  and  a  number  of  imitation  products  then  on 
the  market  were  being  sold  as  substitutes  for  lard  and  butter,  and 
opinions  regarding  the  food  value  of  petroleum  products  appear  to 
have  differed  very  materially.  Following  the  experiments  of 
Randolph,  Robert  Hutchison  in  1899  made  a  series  of  experiments 
to  demonstrate  that  petroleum,  petrolatum,  paraffin  and  related  prod- 
ucts were  absolutely  unassailable  by  any  of  the  digestive  fluids, 
despite  the  "large  vogue  that  had  of  late  years  been  given  to  various 
petroleum  emulsions,  chiefly  by  ingenious  and  unterrified  advertis- 
ing." He  came  to  practically  the  same  conclusions  arrived  at  by 
Randolph  fifteen  years  earlier  and  pointed  out  that  "  liquid  paraffin 
in  one  sense  may  be  regarded  as  an  artificial  intestinal  mucus  and 
might  in  that  way  have  some  value  on  certain  forms  of  constipation." 
William  Dufifield  Robinson  3  reports  on  the  use  of  a  perfectly 
refined  colorless  and  odorless  petrolatum,  supposedly  of  American 
origin.  He  was  able  to  show  that  all  of  the  product  passed  un- 
changed through  the  intestinal  tract  and  could  be  regained  from  the 
faeces.  In  his  conclusions  he  expressed  the  belief  that  the  effect 
of  the  administration  of  these  petroleum  products  is  far  more  than 
as  a  simple  intestinal  lubricant.  In  over  fifty  selected  cases  in  which 
nutrition,  digestion  and  body-weight  were  impaired,  and  the  purest 
oil  administered  in  1-  or  2-dram  doses  each  day  for  a  period  of 
from  four  to  six  months,  there  was  in  every  instance  an  improvement 
of  weight,  health  and  feeling  of  well-being.  The  administration 
of  refined  paraffin  oil  gave  no  discomfort  in  any  instance,  even  in 
cases  in  which  nearly  a  pint  was  given  in  a  few  hours. 
William  Ewart  4  suggests  liquid  paraffin  as  a  safe  agent  for  the 
local  treatment  of  the  lesions  in  typhoid  fever.  He  says  in  part: 
"  Mineral  oil,  such  as  petrolatum  or  paraffin,  is  neither  absorbed 
nor  dissolved ;  therefore,  after  all  absorbable  ingestions  are  taken 
up  by  the  lacteals,  it  will  still  remain  in  the  bowel.    In  this  way  pure 
2  Randolph,  N.  A.:  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.,  Philadelphia,  1884,  p.  281. 
3  Robinson :  William  Duffield  :  Med.  News,  1900,  lxxvii,  56. 
4  Ewart,  William  :  Brit.  Med.  Jour.,  1902,  ii,  1505. 
