BIOLOGIC ACTIVITY OF PORK AND BEEF THYROID PREPARATIONS*

Abstract

The United States Pharmacopeia description of Thyroid has remained essentially unchanged since the Ninth Revision became effective in 1916. According to the recent Fifteenth Revision, U.S.P. Thyroid is “obtained from domesticated animals that are used for food by man and is” standardized as containing “not less than 0.17 per cent and not more than 0.23 per cent of iodine (I) in thyroid combination. …” It is also stated that “A desiccated thyroid of a higher iodine content may be brought to this standard by admixture with a desiccated thyroid of a lower iodine content or with lactose” and other diluents. According to this description, the fresh or processed glands of swine, cattle or sheep might be used alternatively or blended together to meet the U.S.P. requirements.