Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
December,  1920.  ) 
Reports  on  Benzyl  Benzoate. 
927 
in  differentiating  between  hiccoughs  of  purely  central  origin  and 
those  which  are  due  to  some  peripheral  cause.  Inasmuch  as  the 
drug  acts  peripherally  on  the  smooth  muscle  structures,  he  thinks 
that  benzyl  benzoate  will  prove  most  useful  in  hiccoughs  of  per- 
ipheral origin.  He  finds  the  drug  acts  best  when  administered  in 
20  per  cent,  alcoholic  solution,  in  doses  of  from  20  to  40  drops  in 
water  or  milk.  Suspensions  or  emulsions  are  not  satisfactory,  and 
capsules  have  been  found  to  cause  local  irritation,  or  to  render  the 
action  too  slow. 
A.  D.  Hirschfelder  {Minnesota  Med.,  Aug.,  1920,  p.  380)  says 
that  benzyl  benzoate  gives  relief  in  many  (though  by  no  means  all) 
cases  of  bronchial  asthma.  He  has  used  it  in  other  conditions  of 
spasm,  and  has  had  striking  results  in  the  treatment  of  dysmenor- 
rkoea. 
E.  A.  Heller  and  K.  Steinfield  {New  York  Med.  Jour.,  July  31, 
1920,  p.  160)  report  on  the  non-leucotoxic  properties  of  benzyl  ben- 
zoate. Because  of  its  close  chemical  derivation  from  benzol  (ben- 
zene, B.  P.),  it  appeared  to  them  to  be  desirable  to  investigate  any 
possible  analogy  to  the  toxic  effects  of  the  latter.  Experiments  were 
accordingly  made  on  rabbits;  several  preliminary  leucocyte  counts 
were  made  in  order  to  note  any  tendency  to  variation,  and  the  ani- 
mals were  then  given  subcutaneous  injections  of  a  mixture  of  benzyl 
benzoate  and  olive  oil,  in  equal  parts.  The  dose  varied  from  i  Cc. 
to  2.5  Cc.  per  kilo  of  body- weight.  Two  animals  were  used  as  con- 
trols to  demonstrate  the  destructive  effects  of  benzol.  Leucocyte 
counts  were  made  daily  until  a  tendency  to  consistency  was  noted 
and  then  every  other  day.  The  animals  receiving  benzyl  benzoate 
showed  no  appreciable,  difference  in  leucocyte  count,  though  those 
receiving  the  largest  doses  exhibited  lethargy,  weakness,  and  in  one 
case  death.  In  contrast,  the  two  control  animals  receiving  benzol 
showed  definite  evidences  of  depression  of  the  leucocyte  count, 
which  later  came  back  to  approximately  normal.  The  authors  con- 
clude that,  unlike  benzol,  benzyl  benzoate  is  without  toxic  effects 
upon  the  leucocytes  and  that  there  is  a  wide  margin  of  safety  be- 
tween its  therapeutic  and  its  toxic  doses. 
D.  I.  Macht  (A^.  Y.  Med  Jour.,  Aug.  28,  1920,  p.  269)  reports 
on  its  use  in  some  circulatory  conditions.  He  finds  the  drug  to 
possess  powerful  vasodilator  properties,  without  being  depressant  to 
the  heart  when  administered  by  the  mouth  in  small  doses.  Owing 
to  this  property  it  has  been  found  effective  in  the  treatment  of 
