6io 
Fucus  Vesiculosus. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1879. 
Of  late,  however,  a  preparation  known  as  "Anti-fat"  has  been  exten- 
sively advertised,  both  in  this  country  and  in  America,  possessing,  if  we 
may  accept  the  statements  of  the  proprietors,  very  remarkable  powers 
in  removing  that  superabundance  of  fat  which  is  so  frequently  a  source 
of  anxiety  and  discomfort  to  those  who  indulge  too  freely  in  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  table.  Anti-fat  is  said  to  be  a  fluid  extract  of  Fucus  vesi- 
culosus, a  common  sea-weed,  known  in  this  country  as  sea-wrack  or 
bladder-wrack,  and  in  France  as  Chene  marin  or  Laitue  marine.  It  is 
largely  employed  on  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  France  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  kelp,  whilst  in  Ireland,  cuiiously  enough,  it  is  found  to  be 
invaluable  for  fattening  pigs.  It  contains,  as  might  be  expected,  large 
quantities  of  iodine,  chiefly,  according  to  Gaultier  c'e  Claubry,  in  the 
form  of  iodide  of  potassium.1 
Fucus  vesiculosus  was  at  one  time  officinal  in  the  Dublin  Pharma- 
copoeia, and  is  by  no  means  a  new  remedy.  Pliny  describes  it  under 
the  name  of  Quercus  marina,  and  says  it  is  useful  for  pains  in  the  joints 
and  limbs.  In  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  largely  employed  by 
Gaubius,  Aunel,  Baster  and  others  in  the  treatment  of  scrofula,  bron- 
chocele  and  enlarged  glands,  and  even  for  scirrhous  tumors  Its  char- 
coal, known  as  ^Ethiops  vegetabilis,  was  used  in  the  same  class  of  cases. 
The  fucus  has  also  been  found  useful  in  skin  diseases  and  asthma.  On 
the  discovery  of  iodine,  in  181 1,  by  Courtois,  the  saltpetre  manufac- 
turer of  Paris,  it  for  a  time  fell  into  disrepute.  In  the  year  1862  its  use 
was  revived  by  Prof.  Duchesne-Duparc,  of  Paris,  who,  whilst  using  it 
experimentally  in  the  treatment  of  psoriasis,  found  that  it  possessed  the 
singular  property  of  causing  the  absorption  of  fat. 
The  fucus  can  be  taken  either  as  an  infusion,  made  by  steeping  half 
an  ounce  or  a  small  handful  in  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  or  in  the  form 
of  pill  or  liquid  extract.  The  dose  of  the  infusion  is  about  a  cupful, 
but  it  is  so  abominably  nasty  that  few  people  can  be  induced  to  take  it. 
The  pills  contain  each  3  grains  of  the  alcoholic  extract;  and,  to  begin 
with,  one  is  taken  in  the  morning,  an  hour  at  least  before  breakfast, 
and  another  in  the  evening,  about  three  hours  after  dinner.  The  dose 
is  increased  by  a  pill  a  day  until  the  patient  is  taking  ten  every  morning 
and  evening.  It  is  directed  that  the  ten  pills  should  be  taken  dans  la 
meme  seance,  and  that  a  greater  interval  should  not  be  allowed  to  elapse 
1  Fucus  vesiculosus  is  one  of  those  sea-weeds  which  yield  an  ash  containing  the 
smallest  amount  of  iodides  (see  "Pharm.  Journ.,"  ix,  p.  303). — Ed.  Phar.  Jour. 
