Borolyptol

Borolyptol was a product marketed as an antiseptic for both internal and external use.  It contained “aceto-boroglyceride” which presumably was a proprietary composition containing boric acid and glycerine.  It also contained formaldehyde and alcohol along with a collection of “active balsamic constituents,”  the later being derived from eucalyptus, myrrh, and Pinus pumilio, or dwarf mountain pine trees. Used internally, Borolyptol was claimed to correct the “yeasty” disorders of the stomach leading to belching and flatulence.  However, it was used primarily as a gargle and mouthwash.

Borolyptol was manufactured by the Palisade Manufactur-ing Company of Yonkers, New York beginning in the late 1800’s.  Eventually it’s use was eclipsed by another antiseptic  that was also first produced around the same time: Listerine.

Bibliography:

Advertisement [Special Section]. (1897, August). The Public Health Journal, 11(7), 16. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=bvPlAAAAMAAJ (accessed 2/15/14)

Notes on the composition, therapeutic indications & practical advantages of the pharmaceutical preparations manufactured by the Arlington chemical company, the N.Y. pharmacal association, the Palisade Manf’g. company of Yonkers, N.Y (1909) [Brochure].  Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=sKHHRPMQqZEC (accessed 2/15/14).

Talbot, E. S. (1898). Oral hygiene. Dental Items of Interest: A Monthly Journal of Dental Science, 20, 188-192. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=cLkhAQAAMAAJ (accessed 2/15/14).

Credits:

Courtney Duncan
November 2010