584       Supposed  Toxic  Effect  of  Artificial  Vanillin.  { Xm'£Z'^9tm' 
SUPPOSED  TOXIC  EFFECT  of  ARTIFICIAL  VANILLIN. 
By  L.  Wolff. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  November  18. 
An  idea  prevailing  amongst  confectioners  and  others  using  vanilla  for 
flavoring  purposes  that  artificial  vanillin  possessed  poisonous  properties, 
as  well  as  a  recent  caution  to  druggists,  from  good  authority,  not  to 
employ  this  article  for  internal  use,  based,  as  I  was  told,  on  the  fact 
that  a  whole  family  was  reported  to  have  been  poisoned  by  eating  cream 
puffs  flavored  with  a  minute  quantity  thereof,  led  me  to  make  a  series 
of  experiments  with  a  view  of  testing  this  very  important  point,  so  as 
to  establish  its  poisonous  properties,  if  such  it  possessed,  as  well  as  its 
physiological  effect. 
I  obtained,  to  that  end,  a  number  of  young  and  healthy  rabbits, 
whose  average  evening  temperature  I  determined  (i02*75°F.).  Not 
finding  any  effect  from  \  grain  administered  to  one  of  them  by  the 
mouth,  noting  carefully  temperature,  appetite  and  habit  of  animal,  I 
soon  increased  the  dose  to  one-half,  three-quarters  and  one  grain,  find- 
ing again  but  little  change  with  these  doses,  certainly  none  which  would 
show  a  deleterious  action  of  the  vanillin,  and  noticing  only  with  the 
larger  doses  a  slight  increase  in  temperature  (i°  to  2°).  I  further 
increased  the  dose  to  two  grains,  which,  though  slightly  elevating  the 
temperature,  did  rather  augment  than  impair  the  appetite,  and  showed 
a  marked  increase  in  the  vivacity  of  the  animal.  To  obviate  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  vanillin  not  being  absorbed  in  the  alimentary  canal,  I 
njected  hypodermically,  at  first  a  quarter  and  subsequently  half  a  grain 
of  it,  dissolved  in  water,  to  another  of  the  rabits,  with  the  same  nega- 
tive result  as  to  its  poisonous  nature,  observing,  however,  as  in  the 
larger  doses  by  the  mouth,  a  decided  aphrodisiac  effect  in  the  animals. 
Encouraged  by  these  negative  results  on  the  rabbits,  I  commenced 
to  take  the  same  myself,  first  in  -g1^,  then  y1^,  J,  J,  J,  and  even  one 
grain  doses,  without  experiencing  any  notable  effect,  taking  again  the 
thermometer  as  guide  in  my  experiments.  An  increased  dose  of  two 
grains  proved  no  more  effective,  though  it  appeared  to  produce  a  slightly 
higher  temperature  in  the  evening. 
Its  physiological  effect  seemed  that  of  a  nerve  stimulant,  manifesting 
itself  in  a  little  accelerated  circulation,  slight  trembling,  and  the  night's 
rest  disturbed  by  dreams.  The  increase  of  appetite  was  quite  percepti- 
ble, as  well  as  the  absence  of  gastric  disturbances. 
