A neutral principle extracted from Goa powder, a substance found deposited in the wood of Vouacapoua Araroba.

Properties : Chrysarobin is a pale orange-yellow, micro-crystalline powder, tasteless, odorless and irritating to the mucous membrane. It is very slightly soluble in water, but rather more soluble in alcohol and partially soluble in fats.

Action and Uses : Chrysarobin is antiseptic and anti-parasitic and a powerful irritant to the skin. It is a more powerful stimulant than tar and must be used with correspondingly greater caution, except in dermatoses in which the production of an acute inflammatory reaction is not especially to be dreaded. It is employed in the treatment of fungus diseases of the skin but is also of especial use in chronic inflammatory dermatoses to produce a healthy reaction.

Chrysarobin is used externally in ointment or solution in the strength of from 2 to 10 or even 20 per cent. In the weaker proportions it is often quite as effective as in the stronger and does not excite acute dermatitis.

Chrysarobin stains the skin brownish, the hair greenish-yellow, the nails reddish-brown. Its use about the head should be avoided. It also stains clothing a walnut-brown. This stain can be removed by dilute solution of caustic soda or solution of chlorinated soda.