Some observations on the antiseptic and physiological action of resorcin / by W.B. Platt.
- Platt, Walter Brewster, 1853-1922.
- Date:
- 1883
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Some observations on the antiseptic and physiological action of resorcin / by W.B. Platt. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![[Hxtractoil from the American Journal of the Medical Sciences for Jan. 1883.] SOME OBSERYAimS OY’ THE ANTISEPTIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF RESORCIN. By W. E. PLATT, M.D. (Harv.), M.R.C.S. (Exg.), BALTIMORE, MD. Resorcin was cli.scovered by Hlasiwitcli and Bartli, in Vienna, in 18G4. They obtained it from galbannm and ammoniac, two well-known gum resins. It lias also been obtained from Brazil-wood, but is now usually made by melting plienol-sulphonic acid with caustic potassa. In America it costs about $2.50 per ounce; in Germany, half that sum. Any in- creased consumption would doubtless largely reduce the market price, as it is at present made only on a small scale. Chemically—Resorcin belongs to the phenol group, phenol (carbolic acid) being CgHj(OH), while resorcin is CgH^(OH)j. It is isomeric with two other members of the .same group, hydrochinon (which is already known to possess antiseptic qualities) and pyrocatechin. The latter has been little studied as yet. Hydrochinon, quite similar in its general action to resorcin, is re- ported to have been investigated by Brieger, who finds it possesses a stronger antipyretic action tlian resorcin. Two decigrammes internally (0.2) depress the temperature of the body half a degree Cent, (nearly F.). The effect in depressing temperature is very brief. Larger doses, up to 1 gramme, cause symptoms of excitement, etc., similar to resorcin. It has no more local ii'ritant action than water. Reaorcin—Within the last few years attention has been called to the antiseptic action of resorcin, especially with reference to the question of its suli>titution for carbolic acid. IJr. J. Andeer, of Wurzburg, as re- ported in the Lancet, Nov. 13, 1881, thinks a “1 jier cent, solution of resorcin retards fermentation, a stronger solution arrests it, destroys move-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22332510_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
