18737. Misbranding of  Hepatona.    TJ.   S.   v.   36  Bottles   of  Hepatona. . De 
fault decree of condemuatioii, forfeiture, and destruction.     (F.  &
,    ,D. No, 26368.    I.S, No. 5776.    S. No. 4706.)       <
Examination of a drug, product, known as Hepatona, from the shipment 
herein ^described having ishown that the bottle label and the accompanying cir- 
cular, bore statements representing that the article possessed; curative or 
therapeutic properties.which it did not possess,.the Secretary of Agriculture 
reported the matter :to the United States attorney for the District of iPorto Rico. 
? On May 22, 1931,: the United States'attorney-filed; in the District Court of 
the United States for the district aforesaid a libel praying seizure iand con- 
demnation-.-.of 8Q bottles of Hepatona, alleging that the article had been shipped 
by H. K. Mulford & Co., Philadelphiaj Pa., on or about February : 26, 1931, 
to San Juan, P. R., and was being sold and offered for sale in Porto Rico by
110073-32 2
Serra, Garabis & Co. (Inc.), San Juan, P. R., and charging misbranding in 
violation of the food and drugs act as amended.
Analysis of a sample of Hepatona by this department showed that it con- 
sisted essentially of sodium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bitartrate, 
a lithium salt, citric acid and phenolphthalein. 
s
It was alleged in the libel that the article was misbranded in that the fol- 
lowing statements in the labeling, regarding the curative or therapeutic effects 
of the said article, were false and fraudulent, since it contained no ingredient 
or combination of ingredients capable of producing the effects claimed: (Bot- 
tle) " Hepatona * * * Hepatic Stimulant, Colagogue and Eliminator of 
Uric Acid"; (circular) " Hepatic Stimulant * * * it exercises a stim- 
ulative action over the hepatic cells and is efficacious even in smaller 
doses * * * regularizes the action of the intestines, ? * * *, It is a 
smooth and efficacious^ hepatic stimulant. Prominent authorities consider it 
the best remedy for cirrhosis of the liver * * * is a powerful eliminating 
agent in toxic conditions * * * thus obtaining its stimulative action over 
the liver without the necessity of administering large doses. * * * the 
preferred eliminator for innumerable conditions where the clearing of the 
system from katabolic products and the removal of toxic materials from the 
blood is desired * * * It is also of great help for the treatment of dis- 
orders of the kidneys; it eliminates the toxic substances from the alimentary 
canal, thus relieving them from the work of expelling those toxic products. 
This allows the kidneys to rest and to recover their normal functions. * * * 
In the treatment,of the diseases of the^skin of?any origin,t^he necessity of 
keeping
" the ,blood! free from, these products has been acknowledged."
On July 8, 1931, no claimant having appeared for the property, judgment 
of condemnation and forfeiture was entered, and' it was ordered by the court 
that the product be destroyed by the United States marshal. -   '.
ABTHXJE M. HYDE," Secretafy of Agriculture.