Case 122 --

Lash's Bitters: Biochemical Analysis
of a Historical Proprietary Medicine


RESULTS

We found that our bottle of Lash's Bitters contained:

  1. ethanol: 16.6 g/dl (19.2% by volume)
  2. methanol: 24 mg/dl (0.03% by volume)
  3. numerous small organic acids and sugars
  4. no evidence of significant levels of anthraquinones or danthron
  5. lead: 295 mg/dl (approximately 440 mg per tablespoon. A typical US diet contains 300 mg/ day.)
  6. iron: 40 mg/dl (approximately 0.06 mg per tablespoon. The US RDA is 10mg per day for men, 18mg for women)
  7. copper: 17 mg/dl (approximately 0.026 mg per tablespoon. The US RDA is 2mg per day)
  8. zinc: 6.8 mg/ml (approximately 0.1 mg per tablespoon. The US RDA is 15mg per day)

Case 

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