Benzocaine

Benzocaine
Clinical data
Trade namesAnbesol, Lanacane, Orajel, others
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
Routes of
administration
Topical, Oral
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • UK: GSL, P
  • US: OTC
Identifiers
  • Ethyl 4-aminobenzoate
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.002.094 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC9H11NO2
Molar mass165.192 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • O=C(OCC)c1ccc(N)cc1
  • InChI=1S/C9H11NO2/c1-2-12-9(11)7-3-5-8(10)6-4-7/h3-6H,2,10H2,1H3 checkY
  • Key:BLFLLBZGZJTVJG-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  (verify)

Benzocaine, sold under the brand name Orajel amongst others, is a local anesthetic, belonging to the amino ester drug class, commonly used as a topical painkiller or in cough drops. It is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter anesthetic ointments such as products for oral ulcers. It is combined with antipyrine to form A/B ear drops. In the US, products containing benzocaine for oral application are contraindicated in children younger than two years old.[1] In the European Union, the contraindication applies to children under 12 years of age.[medical citation needed]

It was first synthesised in 1890 in Germany and approved for medical use in 1902.[2]

  1. ^ "Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products - Oral Over-the-Counter Benzocaine Products: Drug Safety Communication - Risk of Serious and Potentially Fatal Blood Disorder". www.fda.gov. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Fischer J, Ganellin CR (2006). Analogue-based Drug Discovery. John Wiley & Sons. p. 475. ISBN 9783527607495.