Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  > 
January.  1903.  / 
Theocin, 
theobromine,  dissolving  in  the  proportion  of  I  to  179  parts  as  com- 
pared with  1  to  1,600.  Theocin  forms  salts,  of  which  the  ammo- 
nium and  potassium  salts  dissolve  readily,  while  the  sodium  salt  is 
only  slightly  soluble. 
You  may  ask  why  theophylline  was  rechristened  "  theocin."  The 
product  is  intended  to  be  used  in  medicine,  and  for  this  reason  it 
was  given  the  new  name  to  distinguish  it  from  the  natural  product. 
There  are  to-day  any  number  of  physicians  who  still  think  that 
synthetic  products  do  not  possess  the  same  medicinal  properties  as 
the  natural  bodies ;  for  example,  even  the  purest  synthetic  salicylic 
acid  is  by  many  considered  inferior  to  salicylic  acid  made  from  oil  of 
wintergreen,  which  latter  also  commands  a  vastly  higher  price. 
You  know  that  hosts  of  people  think  that  beet  sugar  is  not  as  sweet 
as  cane  sugar.  To  avoid  misunderstandings,  therefore,  synthetic 
theophylline  has  been  named  "  theocine." 
As  you  are  aware,  the  only  members  of  the  purin  group  that 
have  been  employed  in  medicine  are  caffeine  and  theobromine. 
Caffeine  is  used  as  a  heart  stimulant  and  diuretic,  and  as  a  remedy 
for  headaches;  theobromine  chiefly  as  a  diuretic.  Both  of  them  act 
directly  upon  the  kidney,  but  theobromine  is  more  powerful  in  its 
action,  and  is  devoid  of  the  exciting  effect  of  caffeine  upon  the 
nervous  system  and  its  stimulating  influence  upon  the  heart.  Owing 
to  the  fact,  however,  that  it  frequently  causes  stomach  disturbances 
it  is  chiefly  prescribed  in  the  form  of  its  double  salts — diuretin  and 
agurin. 
According  to  the  clinical  experiments  of  Prof.  O.  Minkowski,  of 
Cologne  (Therapie  der  Gegenwart),  theocin  approximates  more 
closely  in  its  action  to  theobromine  than  to  caffeine.  It  is  practi- 
cally devoid  of  any  effect  upon  the  heart  or  circulation,  and  exerts 
a  much  more  decided  diuretic  action  than  theobromine.  Under  its 
administration  the  pulse  and  blood  pressure  were  not  affected,  and 
no  irritation  of  the  kidneys  was  noted,  which  is,  of  course,  a  very 
important  point  in  the  class  of  cases  in  which  it  is  indicated.  Pro- 
fessor Minkowski  tested  theocin  in  various  conditions  of  dropsy  due 
to  affections  of  the  heart,  liver  and  kidneys,  and  found  that  in  most 
instances  the  daily  quantity  of  urine  under  its  use  ranged  from  3,000 
to  5,000  c.c.  In  one  instance  the  increase  was  remarkable — from 
1,300  c.c.  to  7,600  c^c.  in  the  twenty-four  hours;  and  in  connection 
with  this  there  was  a  complete  disappearance  of  the  dropsy  during 
