Secobarbital

Secobarbital
Clinical data
Trade namesSeconal, others
Other namesQuinalbarbitone
AHFS/Drugs.comConsumer Drug Information
MedlinePlusa682386
Pregnancy
category
  • D (United States)
Routes of
administration
By mouth, intravenous
Drug classBarbiturate
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability?
Protein binding45-60%[2]
MetabolismHepatic
Elimination half-life15-40 hours[2]
ExcretionRenal
Identifiers
  • (RS)-5-(pentan-2-yl)-5-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3-diazinane-2,4,6-trione
CAS Number
PubChem CID
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.000.894 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC12H18N2O3
Molar mass238.287 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • O=C1NC(NC(C1(CC=C)C(CCC)C)=O)=O
  • InChI=1S/C12H18N2O3/c1-4-6-8(3)12(7-5-2)9(15)13-11(17)14-10(12)16/h5,8H,2,4,6-7H2,1,3H3,(H2,13,14,15,16,17) checkY
  • Key:KQPKPCNLIDLUMF-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  (verify)

Secobarbital, sold under the brand name Seconal among others, is a short-acting barbiturate drug originally used for the treatment of insomnia. It was patented by Eli Lilly and Company in 1934 in the United States.[3] It possesses anesthetic, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic properties. In the United Kingdom, it was known as quinalbarbitone. Secobarbital is considered to be an obsolete sedative-hypnotic (sleeping pill) and has largely been replaced by the benzodiazepine family. It was widely abused, known on the street as "red devils" or "reds."[4] Among barbiturates, secobarbital carries a particularly high risk of abuse and addiction, which is largely responsible for it falling out of use.

  1. ^ Anvisa (2023-03-31). "RDC Nº 784 - Listas de Substâncias Entorpecentes, Psicotrópicas, Precursoras e Outras sob Controle Especial" [Collegiate Board Resolution No. 784 - Lists of Narcotic, Psychotropic, Precursor, and Other Substances under Special Control] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Diário Oficial da União (published 2023-04-04). Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  2. ^ a b Lexi-Comp. "Secobarbital". Archived from the original on 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ US patent 1954429, Shonle HA, "Propyl-Methyl Carbinyl Allyl Barbituric Acid and its Salts", issued 1934-04-10, assigned to Eli Lilly 
  4. ^ Dembosky A (23 March 2016). "Drug Company Jacks Up Cost Of Aid-In-Dying Medication". NPR. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-03-24.