Fletcher's Castoria, now known as Fletcher's Laxative, is an oral syrup containing a stimulant

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

and ingredients to soothe the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

. It is a product of The Mentholatum Company, Inc.

History

On May 12, 1868, the

United States Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Ale ...

granted a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

to Dr. Samuel Pitcher (1824-1907) of

Barnstable, Massachusetts Barnstable ( ) is a List of municipalities in Massachusetts, town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population ...

, for a

cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathar ...

composed of senna,

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

, essence of

wintergreen Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term ''wintergreen'' once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term ''evergreen'' is now more commonly used for this characteristic. ...

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

, sugar and water. The remedy was initially sold under the name Pitcher's Castoria. Over time the product formula has changed. In 1871, The Centaur Company was formed by Charles Henry Fletcher to purchase the rights to and manufacture Pitcher's Castoria. It was renamed Fletcher's Castoria. Castoria was the subject of one of the most significant campaigns in early mass advertising. Castoria ads from the 1870s through 1920s are still visible today (or at least were between the 1970s and 2005) on the buildings of New York. See and for photos. At the opening of the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

in 1883, there were Castoria ads on virtually every blank wall in sight. They are quite visible in images of the opening of the bridge. There were two "Fletcher's Castoria"

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

bombers during World War II, both part of the 100th Bomber Group. The first was lost, but the crew survived. The second survived the war. Its pilot was William H. Fletcher (not a descendant of Charles Henry Fletcher), hence its name. The Centaur Company was acquired by

Sterling Drug Sterling Drug was an American based global pharmaceutical company. It was also known as Sterling Winthrop, Inc., after the merger with Winthrop-Stearns Inc. which itself resulted from the merger of Winthrop Chemical Company Inc. and Frederick Ste ...

during the 1920s.1/4 interest acquired Feb 9, 1923 (New York Times, Feb 9, 1923, Page 24, col 1). It later acquired the remaining interest. In 1984, Sterling Drug sold Fletcher's Castoria to The Mentholatum Company. In 1988 Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese company, purchased Mentholatum, which continues to operate as a Rohto subsidiary.

Pharmacology

*Active laxative ingredient: senna, 33.3 mg/ml *Other ingredients:

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...

, flavor,

glycerin Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...

methylparaben Methylparaben (methyl paraben) one of the parabens, is a preservative with the chemical formula . It is the methyl ester of ''p''-hydroxybenzoic acid. Several related esters are known (ethyl-, propyl-, butylparaben). Together they are the m ...

propylparaben Propylparaben (also spelled propyl paraben) is the ''n''-propyl ester of ''p''-hydroxybenzoic acid. It occurs as a natural substance found in many plants and some insects. Additionally, it can be manufactured synthetically for use in cosmetics, ...

purified water Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water was, formerly, the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently pu ...

sodium benzoate Sodium benzoate also known as benzoate of soda is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C6H5COONa. Pro ...

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

*Non-alcoholic *Non-prescription Acts within 6–12 hours. There are no known drug interactions, although as a stimulant laxative it may affect how long a medicine remains in the digestive tract. It is best not to take senna within 1 to 2 hours of taking other medicines.

Availability

Once known as Fletcher's Castoria, the product has since been renamed Fletcher's Laxative for Kids. Although marketed as a children's laxative in the US, it is effective for adults. Once a staple of drug stores, Castoria is becoming difficult to find.

References

*{{cite web , url=http://us.mentholatum.com/fletchers-laxative-for-kids/ , title=Fletcher's Laxative product page , publisher=Mentholatum Co. Laxatives Patent medicines