On the so-called ballast substances of herbal medicines. Kofler (Wien. kl. Woch., 1927, no. 52)

According to Kofler, the production of "pure" medicinal substances with the elimination of all "ballast" elements, so advertised in recent years, does not always signify real progress and appears to be advantageous. In many cases it is just the opposite: an untreated drug or pharmacopoeia preparation produces better results than a "new" drug of the same kind, partly because of the "ballast" in the former.