Global InformationSeidlitz powders information
Seidlitz powders is the generic name under which a commonly known laxative and digestion regulator was marketed and sold by numerous manufacturers under names such as "Rexall Seidlitz Powders", particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]
The three ingredients of Seidlitz powders (tartaric acid, potassium sodium tartrate and sodium bicarbonate) were manufactured by chemical factories from the mid-19th century onwards. The name 'Seidlitz powders' ultimately derives from the village of Sedlec in the Czech Republic. See also § Etymology below.
The municipality of Sedlec (somewhat confusingly) is also the source of 'Sedlitz bitter water' (see also § Sedlitz water below), a naturally occurring spa mineral water which has an entirely different chemical composition and side-effects from Seidlitz powders: there is apparently no connection between the two products except the name.[2]
- ^ Picture of a Rexall 'Seidlitz powders' tin from the 1930s. Retrieved 20 April 2015
- ^ The chemical composition of Sedlitz water is shown in Madden 1867, p. 242