YOUR remedies for menstrual period pain and
problems. See more remedies here.
A discussion of the letter testimonials,
and their authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a discussion of a Pursettes
ad with a letter testimonial)
See two letters to MUM about the ingredients
of her Compound, and one about the lyrics of an English
pop song, Lily the Pink, about her.
Other amazing women: Nelli Bly,
Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson
 
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The Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., maker of medicine for headaches,
stomach illness, insomnia, depression, cancer, tumors, women's diseases,
flatulence, menstruation, fertility, etc.:
About the ingredients of the Pinkham Vegetable Compound:
two e-mails
First e-mail:
As an herbalist, I think you underestimate the medicinal value of Lydia Pinkham's elixir.
It has always contained effective herbal medicines (in fact the FDA
[the American Food and Drug Administration] or its precursors required
tests as early as the 1920s, if memory serves). The 13-20% of alcohol is
not atypical of an herbal tincture. Indeed, an herbal extract with less
alcohol is pharmacologically unstable. The alcohol does help disperse the
medicine to the tissues better than the pill form, carrying it to the uterine
tissues. But the herbs used are powerful medicines in their own right,
although the modern formulation is somewhat less effective than that of
the 1960s and before.
The original recipe for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound is as follows:
Unicorn Root (Aletris farinosa L.) 8 oz.
Life Root (Senecio aureus L.) 6 oz.
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.) 6oz.
Pleurisy Root (Asclepias tuberosa L.) 6 oz.
Fenugreek Seed (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) 12 oz.
Alcohol (18%) to make 100 pints
This formula is believed to have been developed through reading King's
American Dispensatory. J. Burton, in his biography, of Lydia Pinkham, 1949,
claims the addition of 8 oz. of False Unicorn (Chamaelirium luteum). I
seem to remember that as recently as the 1960s it had Angelica and Cimicifuga,
when it was indicated for menstrual cramps as well as menopause. I read
an excellent biography of her sometime in the 1970s which documents a number
of formula changes over the years [that biography might be "Female
Complaints: Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Women's Medicine," by
Sarah Stage, Norton, 1979, a great resource about Mrs. Pinkham and the
patent medicine industry in the U.S.A.].
The current ingredients are:
Piscidia erthrina (Jamacian dogwood)
Asclepias tuberosa (Pleurisy root)
Glycyrhizia
Taraxacum officinale
Gentiana lutea
Leonarus cardiacus
Ferrous lactate
D-Alpha tocopherol
Ascorbic acid
Ethyl alcohol (13%)
It tastes strongly of the ferrous lactate and lacks the old punch,
and is only suggested as a menopause formula. It is currently distributed
by NUMARK Laboratories, of Edison, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Karen Vaughan
The second e-letter arrived in February 2001:
Thank you for putting up the Web site. It is very interesting and enlightening.
You may wish to dignify Lydia Pinkham's compound by adding that the
ingredients (iron, dogwood, pleurisy, licorice) contain a mineral and herbs
which have been and are still being used by alternative, naturopathic,
and traditional Chinese medicine to treat health problems such as iron
deficiency anemia, adrenal exhaustion, fatigue, inflammations, respiratory
diseases etc.
Information about pleurisy root and licorice herbs can be verified
at
Alcohol remains a carrier liquid and preservative for herbal tinctures
to this day.
Your comments about the alcohol being the only effective ingredient
in Pinkham's compound are not true, and you should correct this.
Sincerely,
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NEXT: Trade
card: little girl and cat - See more Mrs. Pinkham,
below (and see her first page)
The Schlesinger Library, of the Radcliffe Institute
for Advanced Study, part of Harvard University, has probably the
largest collection of material about the Pinkham
enterprise, the records of the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company.
Part of the donation of SarahAnne Hazelwood to this museum, much of
it patent medicine and old medical equipment, was a very interesting biography
and study of Mrs. Pinkham's business, Female Complaints:
Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Women's Medicine, by Sarah Stage.
See two letters to MUM about the ingredients
of her Compound, and one about the lyrics of an English
pop song, Lily the Pink, about her.
Other amazing women: Nelli Bly,
Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson
See also the patent medicine Cardui,
Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's
letter appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's medicines,
and Orange Blossom medicine.
© 1998, 2005 Harry Finley. It is illegal
to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations
to hfinley@mum.org
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