COMPARATIVE PHARMACOLOGY OF SOME CONDENSATION PRODUCTS OF PHENOLS WITH ALIPHATIC ALDEHYDES AN INQUIRY INTO CHEMOPHARMACODYNAMIC RELATIONSHIPS

¹ Pharmacological and Chemical Research Laboratories, Hynson, Westcott & Dunning, Inc., Baltimore, Md.

1. Three series of condensation products of phenol, ortho-cresol and resorcinol, with the first seven aldehydes of the aliphatic series, were studied by several pharmacological methods.

[See figure in the PDF file]

2. The relative pharmacological potency and toxicity of the various compounds were established for goldfish, Carassius auratus, for seedlings of Lupinus albus, for Staphylococcus aureus, and for the circulation, respiration and kidney function of cats and rabbits.

3. It was found that while some of the compounds were markedly germicidal for bacterial cultures in vitro, they did not render the urine antiseptic when administered to rabbits by stomach except when very massive doses were given, which proved to be toxic for the animals.

4. It was found that the order of potency or toxicity for a given series of compounds was constant for any one kind of pharmacological reaction but that the sequence was not the same for different kinds of pharmacological tests; nor was the relative toxicity of any one group parallel to that of another series of condensation products even when tested by exactly similar methods.

5. The results obtained demonstrate the futility of making sweeping generalizations in regard to chemical structure of any series of related chemical compounds and their physiological effects and emphasize the necessity of supporting each statement concerning such chemopharmacodynamic relationships by experimental proof.