Am.  Jour.  Pharni.  \ 
February,  1909.  J 
Drug  Adulteration. 
73 
DRUG  ADULTERATION.* 
By  L.  F.  Kebler, 
Chief,  Division  of  Drugs,  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Washington,  D.  C. 
The  subject  of  drug  adulteration  should  be  of  the  utmost  interest 
to  druggists,  physicians,  and  consumers.  No  physician  or  patient 
knowingly  uses  a  debased  drug  and  no  druggist  should  so  far  forget 
his  responsibility  to  the  physician,  the  consumer,  and  to  the  public 
at  large  as  to  sell  such  drugs.  In  the  past,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
at  present,  many  conditions  obtained,  as  will  be  shown  this  evening, 
which  made  it  impossible  to  definitely  know  when  a  debased  drug 
or  preparation  made  from  same  was  in  hand.  The  propaganda 
waged  during  the  past  few  years  for  U.S. P.  and  N.F.  products  by 
the  pharmaceutical  profession  makes  it  eminently  desirable  to  place 
in  the  hands  of  druggists,  manufacturing  or  otherwise,  uniform 
drugs  so  that  by  following  the  same  formulae  different  operators 
can  produce  preparations  of  the  same  physical  appearance  and 
therapeutic  value  from  Maine  to  California.  This  will  remove  the 
greatest  criticism  at  present  extant,  namely,  the  variation  of  the 
same  remedy  sold  by  different  druggists. 
Chemical  standards  and  methods  for  arriving  at  same  are  recog- 
nized for  many  potent  drugs,  but  often  disturbing  factors  present 
themselves  which  render  standards  based  upon  purely  chemical 
methods  unreliable.  For  example,  the  sample  of  belladonna  leaves 
before  you  consists  of  a  mixture  of  belladonna  and  Phytolacca  leaves. 
The  usual  chemical  analysis  would  not  reveal  the  presence  of  the 
latter.  The  same  remarks  hold  for  this  sample  of  belladonna  root 
adulterated  with  poke  root.  Here  is  another  sample  consisting  of 
a  mixture  of  belladonna  and  scopola  leaves.  Chemical  analysis 
might  show  that  the  per  cent,  of  alkaloidal  matter  is  fully  up  to 
the  requirements,  but  if  the  product  should  be  used  when  a  bella- 
donna preparation  is  called  for,  or  vice  versa,  undesirable  results 
might  follow.  Here  I  have  a  sample  of  henbane  leaves  below  the 
standard.  The  leaves  themselves  are  genuine.  According  to  some 
importers  this  drug  of  proper  quality  is  scarce  and  high  priced  and 
some  manufacturers  felt  the  need  of  some  drug  which  could  be  used 
in  fortifying  the  inferior  leaves.    The  drug  ultimately  found  which 
*  Read  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Washington  Branch  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association,  December  14,  1908. 
