20742. Misbranding of Percholin.    U. S. v. 10 Boxes of Percholin.    Default
decree of condemnation and destruction.     (F. & D. no. 28673.    Sample 
no. 1121-A.)
Examination of the drug preparation Percholin disclosed that it contained 
no ingredient or combination of ingredients capable of producing certain cura- 
tive and therapeutic effects claimed in the circular shipped with the article.
On August 25, 1932, the United States attorney for the Southern District 
of California, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in 
the District Court of the United States a libel praying seizure and condemna- 
tion of 10 boxes of Percholin, remaining in the original unbroken packages at
Los Angeles, Calif., alleging that the article had been shipped in interstate 
commerce on or about May 2 and May 17,1932, by the Bika Biochemical Labora- 
tories, from Philadelphia, Pa., into the State of California, and charging 
misbranding in violation of the Food and Drugs Act as amended.
Analysis of a sample of the article by this Department showed that it con- 
sisted of tablets composed of milk sugar, starch, ground plant material, a small 
proportion of organic nitrogenous material, and 1.1 percent of inorganic ma- 
terial including sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, and magnesium 
sulphates and phosphates, and an insoluble silicate.
It was alleged in the libel that the article was misbranded in that the 
following statements regarding its curative or therapeutic effects were false 
and fraudulent: (Circular) "A safe, reliable remedy to reduce high blood pres- 
sure. The effectiveness of Bika Percholin is enhanced through the properties 
of cholin, which exerts a restraining influence upon the too free manufacturing 
of hormones in the kidney region. Thyroid and spleen hormones, combined 
with magnesium salt and vitamines, produce an irresistible remedy, conquering 
high blood pressure conditions, irrespective of the particular cause or govern- 
ing conditions. Bika-Percholin also encourages sluggish bowel movement into 
normal activity, even to the extent of restoring to normal a paralysis-of-the- 
bowel condition. * * * High blood pressure (types due to various causes) 
sluggish bowels. * * * An essential function of gland therapy is its 
ability to directly influence the excretory glands, in the event of an under 
or over production of hormones—with its resulting disturbance of the health 
balance. The unique effectiveness of Bika gland remedy lies in its ability 
to restore the equal balance of hormone production; encouraging uninterrupted 
hormone production in normal, minute quantities, acceptable to the blood- 
stream. Recognizing the fact that the human organism reacts unfavorably 
when hormone-production balance is disturbed; Bika gland remedy attacks and 
equalizes this condition. Heretofore, the effective introduction of hormone- 
stimulating preparations were hampered by the necessity of the hyperdermic 
method; which restricted the physician to a minute and oft-repeated dosage, 
with its frequently unpleasant reactions and manifestations. This condition 
was the lesser evil compared to the hyperdermic, which introduced a greater 
mass of hormones, thereby forcibly creating a rapid rise in the hormone 
balance—the sudden shock attended by alarming physiological reactions. 
Vastly superior in effectiveness * * * the law of reabsorption and metab- 
olism, encouraging and stimulating effected glands into normal productivity. 
*    *    *   assures an established, permanent hormone balance."
On March 31, 1933, no claimant having appeared for the property, judgment 
of condemnation was entered and it was .ordered by the court that the product 
be destroyed by the United States marshal.
R. G. TUGWELL, Actmff Secretary of Agriculture.