CRE'OSOTE, or CRE'ASOTE (Gk. spiac, Areas, flesh + atdriip, sok'r, preserver, from (36;t1r, sii:eim to save). An oily liquid obtained by the destructive distillation of wood, particularly that of the beech (Fugus syleatica Linn;, natural order Cupuliferle). It is almost colorless when freshly obtained, but gradually assumes a darker color if exposed to the action of light. It has a penetrating, smoky odor and a burning taste, and is slightly heavier than water, in which it is soluble only to a very limited extent. It mixes readily with alcohol, ether, chloroform, and gla cial acetic acid. It is composed mainly of fjuai aeol and cresol and has a high refractive power. Creosote acts as an antiseptic and has been used in the preservation of meat—whence its name. At present it is largely used in the treat ment of tuberculosis with mixed infection. For this purpose it may be administered in the form of an emulsion with cod-liver oil and other sub stances; or else a mixture of creosote with alcohol and cholo•ofo•m may be inhaled by the patient, moderate doses of pure creosote being perfectly harmless, and causing no disagreeable symptoms whatever. Creosote was first prepared by Ilei
ehenbach in 1832, and Bouchard and Pimbert were the first to apply it to the treatment of tuberculosis. It is also used in bronchitis with profuse expectoration containing the Streptococ cus bacillus, and in fermentative dyspepsia, diarrhoea, and dysentery. The c•eosote-oil used for the preservation of timber is derived by the fractional distillation of coal-tar, constituting the fraction that distills over between 230° and 270° C. It is composed mainly of phenol (car bolic acid), cresol, naphthalene, and anthracene.
The 'creosote-plant' (Larrcea Mexicana) pro duces a substance similar to Indian gmn-lae and having a strong creosote-like odor; hence the name of the plant.