Sa-Tan-Ic

ꜱᴀ-ᴛᴀɴ-ɪᴄ
SA-TAN-IC: "Builds up the entire SYSTEM" (1914 newspaper advert.)
Year created	1914
Vendors	W. W. Daniels, B. A. McGaugh

Sa-Tan-Ic (ꜱᴀ-ᴛᴀɴ-ɪᴄ) was the brand-name of a "blood purifier" and tonic for relief of stomach, kidney, and liver complaints (as a laxative), formerly manufactured by W. W. Daniels and B. A. McGaugh through their Sa-Tan-Ic Medicine & Mfg. Co. of Wichita, Kansas. The apparent success of their tonic saw the company go on to produce a line of similarly named products, including Sa-Tan-Ic Liniment and Sa-Tan-Ic Salve.

Backstory

According to Daniels, in an interview-advertisement published in the 16 May 1923 issue of the Wichita Eagle, the formula and name of the product were purchased from the heirs of an unnamed French chemist. Daniels and McBaugh then, according to the story, manufactured the tonic exclusively for friends and family from their drug store at 109 West Douglas, Wichita, Kansas. Finding the product well-received among their peers, the pair produced a small lot of 600 bottles of the tonic to distribute as a market test in 1914, and, this being very successful for them, incorporated their manufacturing concern and expanded their operations in 1915. The company filed a trademark on their "devil standing atop the world" logo on 15 November 1915 (Serial No. 90,664), which was granted on 21 March 1916 (Reg. No. 109,134).

Composition

Per A. J. Cramp's Patent Medicines (1922), the F.D.A.'s Bureau of Chemistry analysis of the product found it contained: magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt); cascara bark extractives; salicylic acid; methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen); oil of peppermint; water; and trace amounts of alcohol. Of these ingredients, the magnesium sulphate and cascara bark would act as laxatives, the salicylic acid and methyl salicylate as analgesics, similar to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid).

Later versions of the Laxative Compound, listed on the box itself, included as ingredients: cascara, wild cherry, buckthorn barks, mandrake, dandelion, gentian, licorice, stillingia and sarsaparilla root, aloe, caramel coloring, and preservatives.