Action and Uses.—Cod-liver oil is a food rather than a drug, and is the most easily assimilable of all fats. It increases weight and improves the general condition of the patient, being often well borne by those who are unable to digest other fats. It is employed to improve nutrition in all wasting diseases, such as tuberculosis, scrofula, and rickets. In the malnutrition of children, small doses taken after each meal are of the greatest service. It is best given in the cold months of the year, as a distaste for the oil frequently arises in the summer months. It should not be given when there is diarrhoea. For young infants, the oil is sometimes applied by inunction with good results. On the now abandoned assumption that ready absorption of cod-liver oil was due to the large proportion of free acid present, substitutes consisting of vegetable oils with the addition of oleic acid have been suggested. Lipanin is a mixture of olive oil with 6 per cent. of oleic acid. Morrhuol is an alcoholic extract of cod-liver oil, containing the bases without the fatty glycerides. Morrsiccol is a pale buff-coloured powder containing 36.6 per cent. of cod-liver oil combined with mineral matter. Cod-liver oil may be administered in the form of emulsion, or as Extractum Malti cum Oleo Morrhuae, when the plain oil causes nausea. Emulsions are also prepared with the hypophosphites of calcium and sodium, for use in phthisis. Capsules of cod-liver oil are prepared, containing 1 to 4 mils (15 to 60 minims) in each. Dose.—4 to 16 mils (1 to 4 fluid drachms). Country of Origin: India
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