Abyssinian Powder
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Abyssinian Powder was a secret remedy for bronchial asthma, sold as a powder and cigarettes. The Soviet version contained stramonium, belladonna, henbane, and nitrates, with atropin and lobeline as the main active alkaloids.
Encyclopedia article (1928–1936)
ABYSSINIAN POWDER, Poudre d'Abyssinie contre l'asthme d'Exibard, a secret remedy for bronchial asthma, released for sale by the firm Ferre-Blottie and Co. in Paris in powder and cigarette form. The powder is sold in square packets of 100 grams and is recommended for smoking in a pipe or cigarettes in doses of 0.45 grams per use. In some foreign pharmacopoeias, there are prescriptions for similar preparations under the name Pulvis antiasthmaticus s. Species contra asthma. In the USSR, a preparation of the following composition was released for sale by Gosmedtorgprom: Folium Stramonii pulveratum 528.0, Folium Belladonnae pulveratum 319.0, Folium Hyoscyami pulveratum 304.0, Kalium nitricum pulveratum 239.0, Natrium nitricum pulveratum 25.0, Kalium carbonicum pulveratum 2.5. The most important active alkaloids in the plants included in the preparation are atropin, which eliminates bronchospasm (action on the vagus nerve), and lobeline, which acts on the respiratory center and facilitates breathing by eliminating bronchial muscle spasms.
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“Abyssinian Powder.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/abyssinian-powder/