Nervine
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Nervine was a patent medicine tonic with sedative effects introduced in 1884 by Dr. Miles Medical Company (later Miles Laboratories which was absorbed into Bayer).[1][2][3] The name is a cognate of 'Nerve', and the implication was that the material worked to calm nervousness.
Formulation
[edit]
The original form of Nervine was in a liquid form containing bromide, sold in a glass bottle with the label "Dr. Miles' Restorative Nervine". Later versions of Nervine replaced the bromide, which is dangerous if consumed in high quantities, with an antihistamine.[3] This was because in 1976, the FDA had removed bromides from over-the-counter medications.[4]
One form of Nervine was formulated with the primary active ingredients sodium bromide, ammonium bromide, and potassium bromide, combined with sodium bicarbonate and citric acid in an effervescent tablet.[4]
Modern appropriation of term
[edit]In the late 20th and early 21st century, promulgators of alternative medicine and herbalism have begun to use the term nervine as an adjective. This is not a term used by mainstream medicine, where anxiolytic is the preferred term.
Euell Gibbons uses the term as a generic noun in his books published in the 1960s.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "1940-dr-miles-nervine-tonic". Etsy. Etsy.
After a hectic day, Dr Miles liquid Nervine
- ^ "Dr Miles Nervine". Mercari. Mercari.
Bromides of sodium, potassium, and ammonium
- ^ a b "Dr. Miles' Restorative Nervine". House of History. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
- ^ a b "'Miracle' cures an old standard in America". The Sylva Herald. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
- ^ "Miles Nervine". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
