Heptabarbital
Encyclopedia
Heptabarb also known as heptabarbitone (BAN
) or heptabarbital, is a sedative
and hypnotic
drug
of the barbiturate
family. It was previously used in Europe
for the treatment of insomnia
from the 1950s onwards, but has since been discontinued.
British Approved Name
A British Approved Name is the official non-proprietary or generic name given to a pharmaceutical substance, as defined in the British Pharmacopoeia...
) or heptabarbital, is a sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
and hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
of the barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
family. It was previously used in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for the treatment of insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
from the 1950s onwards, but has since been discontinued.