# Oil of bricks

**Oglio de lateribus**

**Known today as.** *Oleum latericium philosophorum*, “philosophers’ oil,” made by quenching red-hot brick in oil, powdering it, and distilling it.

Kind: Compound

## What did Canale use it for?

For anointing (ch. 9).

## What does modern science say?

The London Dispensatory of 1653 calls it “a soveraign remedy for the gout,” and for cold afflictions of the joints and nerves, cramps, the falling sickness, and palsies.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **acrolein and aldehydes**: formed when oil is strongly heated, acrolein the most reactive
- **polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons**: 
- **fatty acids and their cracking products**: 

**Mechanism.** Bricks heated red, quenched in oil, then broken and distilled in a retort: what comes over is oil broken down by the heat. Strongly heated oils crack into aldehydes, acrolein among them, and yield polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It was the “oil of the philosophers” for numbness, palsy, and gout, though Quincy in 1718 found it of little virtue and seldom trusted.

**Dose.** Quincy found it of little virtue; the acrolein and polycyclic hydrocarbons of strongly heated oil are counted carcinogens.

**Standing.** Already “seldom trusted” by 1718, says Quincy.

## Sources

- Wang, Z., Chen, J., & Liu, W. (2026). Formation mechanisms, molecular pathways, mitigation strategies, and indoor safety risk analysis of cooking oil fumes. *Foods*.
- Scian , F., et al. (2025). Toxic aldehydes in cooking vegetable oils: generation, toxicity and disposal methods. *Food Chemistry: X*.
- Quincy, J. (1718). *Pharmacopoeia Officinalis et Extemporanea*, “Oleum Laterinum.”

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*Oil of bricks.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-03. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/oil-of-bricks

Historical description, not medical advice.