ety and insomnia. Examples—given here with generic, or chemical,
names and in some cases trademark brand names used in the United
States—include phenobarbital, secobarbital (Seconal), amobarbital
(Amytal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), and thiopental (Pentothal). Their
use to treat anxiety and insomnia has been largely eclipsed by newer
medications, although phenobarbital still sees use as an antiseizure
medication, especially in veterinary medicine.
Barbiturates were among the first synthetic drugs (not coming
from plants) to be introduced into medicine. A chemical is considered
to be a barbiturate if it has a certain type of molecular structure.
0 0
O oO Oo a
HN NH
HN rn HN r0 0T
O
Phenobarbital
Pentobarbital AmobarbitalThe various barbiturates were invented by the pharmaceutical indus-
try by making chemical modifications to molecules that were already
on the market, thus creating a new representative of the category that
could be independently patented and marketed.
In the 1960s, another group of synthetic sedative-hypnotic drugs
was introduced into the pharmaceutical marketplace—the benzo-
diazepines. Chlordiazepoxide (Librium) appeared in 1960, followed
several years later by diazepam (Valium). Both these drugs continue to
be widely used and have been joined by many other representatives of