Barbital
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| Image:Barbital.svg | |
| Barbital
| |
| Systematic (IUPAC) name | |
| 5,5-diethyl-1,3-diazinane-2,4,6-trione Ethylbarbital | |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | |
| ATC code | N05 |
| PubChem | |
| DrugBank | |
| Chemical data | |
| Formula | C8H12N2O3 |
| Mol. mass | 184.193 g/mol |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | ? |
| Metabolism | ? |
| Half life | ? |
| Excretion | ? |
| Therapeutic considerations | |
| Pregnancy cat. |
? |
| Legal status |
? |
| Routes | Oral |
Barbital (marketed under the brand name Veronal), also called barbitone, was the first commercially marketed barbiturate. It was used as a sleeping aid (hypnotic) from 1903 until the mid-1950s. The chemical names for barbital are diethylmalonyl urea or diethylbarbituric acid. Its chemical formula is (C2H5)2C~CO NH]ICO (sodium 5,5-diethyl barbiturate). Veronal was prepared by condensing diethylmalonic ester with urea in the presence of sodium ethylate, or by adding ethyl iodide to the silver salt of malonylurea. The result was an odorless, slightly bitter, white crystalline powder.
Barbital was first synthesized in 1902 by German chemists Emil Fischer and Joseph von Mering. They published their discovery in 1903 and it was marketed in 1904 by the Bayer company as “Veronal”. A soluble salt of barbital was marketed by the Schering company as “Medinal.” It was dispensed for “insomnia induced by nervous excitability”. [1] It was provided in either capsules or cachets. The therapeutic dose was ten to fifteen grains (0.65-0.97 grams). 3.5 to 4.4 grams is the deadly dose but sleep has also been prolonged up to ten days with recovery.
Veronal was considered to be a great improvement over the existing hypnotics. Its taste was slightly bitter, but an improvement over the strong, unpleasant taste of the commonly used bromides. It had few side effects. Its therapeutic dose was far below the toxic dose. However, prolonged usage resulted in tolerance to the drug, requiring higher doses to reach the desired effect. Fatal overdoses of this slow acting hypnotic were not uncommon.
References
- Fischer, Emil and Joseph von Mering, “Ueber eine neue Klasse von Schlafmitteln”, Therap Gegenw 44:97-101, 1903.
- "Veronal", in Finley, Ellingwood, M.D. The American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy", 1919. [2], accessed 07 Nov 2005.
Barbiturates (N01AF, N03AA, N05CA) |
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Allobarbital • Alphenal • Amobarbital • Aprobarbital • Barbexaclone • Barbital • Brallobarbital • Butabarbital • Butalbital • Butobarbital • Butallylonal • Crotylbarbital • Cyclobarbital • Cyclopal • Ethallobarbital • Febarbamate • Heptabarbital • Hexethal • Hexobarbital • Mephobarbital • Metharbital • Methohexital • Methylphenobarbital • Narcobarbital • Nealbarbital • Pentobarbital • Phenobarbital • Probarbital • Propallylonal • Proxibarbal • Proxibarbital • Reposal • Secbutabarbital • Secobarbital • Sigmodal • Talbutal • Thialbarbital • Thiamylal • Thiobarbital • Thiobutabarbital • Thiopental • Valofane • Vinbarbital • Vinylbital |
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.de:Barbitalgl:Barbital it:Barbital nl:Veronal ja:バルビタールsl:Barbital sv:Barbital
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
