205777 (Adulteration and Misbranding of tincture of aconite. U.S. v. Sharp & Dohme, Inc. Flea of nolo contendere. Fine, $600. (F. & D. no. 28048. I.S. nos. 8985, 27828, 28191.) This case was based on three interstate shipments of tincture of aconite that was represented to conform to the standard of the United States Pharma- copoeia. 'Tests of the article showed that one lot had a potency of less than one third of the pharmacopoeial requirement, and that the other two lots had a potency of less than one half of the requirement. On December 21, 1932, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the District Court of the United States for the district aforesaid an infor- mation against Sharp & Dohme, Inc., a corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., alleging shipment by said company in violation of the Food and Drugs Act, on or about January 7, 1931, from the State of Pennsylvania into the State of New Jersey, and on or about March 3, and April 4, 1931, from the State of Pennsyl- vania into the State of New York, of quantities of tincture of aconite that was adulterated and misbranded. The article was labeled in part: " Tincture Aconite U.S.P.X. Standard (Tinctura Aconiti) * * * Biologically Stand- ardized Note:or. Aconite U.S.P.X. shows marked deterioration with age. To overcome this 1-100 of one percent of acid has been added to this prod- uct. * * * Sharp & Dohme Baltimore-Philadelphia." It was alleged in the information that the article was adulterated in that it was sold by a name recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia, and differed from the standard of strength, quality, or purity as determined by the test laid down in the said pharmacopoeia, official at the time of investigation, since the pharmacopoeia provides that tincture of aconite, when administered subcutaneously to guinea pigs, should have a minimum lethal dose of not more than 0.00045 cubic centimeter for each gram of body weight of guinea pig, whereas the article, when administered subcutaneously to guinea pigs, had a minimum lethal dose of more than the pharmacopoeial requirement, two of the lots requiring 0.001 cubic centimeter per gram of body weight of guinea pig, and the ±hird lot requiring 0.0016 cubic centimeter per gram of body weight of guinea pig, to produce a lethal dose; and the standard of strength, quality, or purity of the article was not declared on the container thereof. Adulteration was alleged for the further reason that the strength and purity of the article fell below the professed standard or quality under which it was sold, in that it was represented to be tincture of aconite that conformed to the standard laid down in the United States Pharmacopoeia, whereas it was not. Misbranding was alleged for the reason that the statements, "Tincture Aconite U.S.P.X. Standard * * * Biologically Standardized ", borne on the label, were false and misleading, since the article did not conform to the require- ments of the pharmacopoeia, and was not biologically standardized. On March 20, 1933, a plea of nolo contendere to the information was entered on behalf of the defendant company, and the court imposed a fine of $600 on the adulteration charges, and withheld fine on the misbranding charges. R. G. TTTGWELL, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.