Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  I 
May,  1911,  / 
Petrox  Preparations. 
213 
the  different  parts  of  the  plant.  Among  Roman  authors  who  de- 
scribe the  pomegranate  and  its  uses  are  Cato  Censorius,  PHny, 
Celsus  and  others.  Subsequent  writers,  for  example,  the  Arabians, 
in  the  ninth  century,  also  refer  to  the  pomegranate,  but  seem  to 
have  mainly  reiterated  the  substance  of  the  writings  of  their  Greek 
and  Roman  predecessors.  The  Arabian  Nights  "  speaks  of  the 
use  of  the  seed  cooked  as  follows :  Every  day  I  cook,  five  dishes 
for  dinner,  and  the  like  for  supper;  and  yesterday  they  sought  of 
me  a  sixth  dish,  yellow  rice,  and  a  seventh,  a  mess  of  cooked  pome- 
granate seed''  (Adventures  of  Mercury  Ali  of  Cairo,  vol.  vii,  p. 
185..)  Of  the  writers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  may  be  mentioned 
Tragus  and  J.  Bauhinus,  the  latter  giving  a  most  detailed  compilation 
of  that  which  was  known  before  his  time  on  the  subject  of  the 
pomegranate,  including  the  myths  with  which  it  is  connected.  It 
was  not  until  the  present  century,  however,  that  the  literature 
of  the  pomegranate  was  enriched  by  the  study  of  its  chemical 
aspects. 
PETROX  PREPARATIONS. 
By  George  M.  Beringer,  Ph.M.,  and  George  M.  Beringer,  Jr.,  P.D. 
Since  the  introduction  of  Oleic  Acid  and  the  Oleates  to  medical 
practice  by  Prof.  John  Marshall  of  London  in  1872,  much  has  been 
learned  concerning  the  action  and  use  and  the  proper  forms  for  the 
application  of  such  medications. 
Following  his  effort,  a  number  of  valuable  papers  were  con- 
tributed to  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  journals.  In  the  main, 
these  dealt  with  the  chemistry  and  were  directed  toward  improving 
the  methods  of  preparing  the  oleates  of  the  alkali  and  metallic 
bases  used  in  medicine  so  as  to  obtain  more  permanent  and  definite 
chemical  compounds  of  a  character  suitable  for  use  in  ointments 
or  in  some  cases  as  dusting  powders.  Yet  in  these  forms,  the 
remarkable  penetration  and  absorbability  possessed  by  Oleic  Acid 
that  makes  it  so  valuable  as  a  carrier  for  many  medications,  was 
but  very  poorly  exhibited  or  utilized. 
True,  the  so-called  oleates  of  the  alkaloids  were  simultaneously 
developed.  These  solutions  of  alkaloids  in  oleic  acid  contain  a  large 
excess  of  the  solvent  that  is  not  needed  for  chemical  reasons  nor 
is  it  desirable  for  therapeutic  activity.     Very  little  attempt  has 
