Bromidia
More actions

| Kind | Patent medicine |
|---|---|
| Part of the plant | Flower |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| First recorded | 1911[1]: 429 |
| Still made | Not known |
Bromidia is an American proprietary hypnotic. A formula for it printed by the American Medical Association in 1911 gives 15 grains each of chloral hydrate and potassium bromide and an eighth of a grain each of extract of Cannabis indica and extract of hyoscyamus.[1]: 429
The Association's Nostrums and Quackery set out the formula to show that, despite the name, "the essential drug in the mixture is chloral hydrate", while noting that it was only "Assuming that this represents the composition of the preparation". It reprinted newspaper reports of two deaths after doses of bromidia and a letter of Horatio C. Wood Jr., who quoted the makers' claim that it was "the safest hypnotic known".[1]: 429–430
The American National Formulary of 1888 gives a compound mixture of chloral and bromide of potassium, without naming any proprietary product, in which each fluid drachm contains 15 grains each of chloral and bromide of potassium and an eighth of a grain each of extract of Indian cannabis and extract of hyoscyamus. It notes that the resinous extract of cannabis is only held in suspension and stays on the filter if the mixture is filtered.[2]: 87
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 American Medical Association (1911). Nostrums and Quackery: articles on the nostrum evil and quackery reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Chicago: Press of American Medical Association – via Wellcome Collection.
- ↑ American Pharmaceutical Association (1888). The National Formulary of Unofficial Preparations. Washington, D.C.: American Pharmaceutical Association – via Wellcome Collection.