Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are a class of medications that are used primarily as antidepressants, which is important for the management of depression. They are second-line drugs next to SSRIs. TCAs were discovered in the early 1950s and were marketed later in the decade. They are named after their chemical structure, which contains three rings of atoms. Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), which contain four rings of atoms, are a closely related group of antidepressant compounds.
The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a large and diverse class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene, and the isoprene polymers called terpenes. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes", terpenoids contain additional functional groups, usually containing oxygen. Terpenoids are the largest class of plant secondary metabolites, representing about 60% of known natural products. Many terpenoids have substantial pharmacological bioactivity and are therefore of interest to medicinal chemists.
Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs) are a class of antidepressants that were first introduced in the 1970s. They are named after their tetracyclic chemical structure, containing four rings of atoms, and are closely related to the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), which contain three rings of atoms.
Piperazine is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms at opposite positions in the ring. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste.
Nortriptyline, sold under the brand name Pamelor, among others, is a medication used to treat depression. This medicine is used for: neuropathic pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), smoking cessation and anxiety. As with many antidepressants, its use for young people with depression and other psychiatric disorders may be limited due to increased suicidality in the 18-24 population initiating treatment. Nortriptyline is a less preferred treatment for ADHD and stopping smoking. It is taken by mouth.
Fluacizine, sold under the brand name Phtorazisin, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) of the phenothiazine group which is or was marketed in Russia. Unlike other phenothiazines, fluacizine is not an antipsychotic, and can actually reverse catalepsy and extrapyramidal symptoms induced by antidopaminergic agents like antipsychotics, reserpine, and tetrabenazine as well as potentiate amphetamine-induced stereotypy. It is known to act as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, antihistamine, and anticholinergic. The drug was developed in the 1960s and was marketed in the 1970s. It is the trifluoromethyl analogue of chloracizine.
PubChem is a database of chemical molecules and their activities against biological assays. The system is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a component of the National Library of Medicine, which is part of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). PubChem can be accessed for free through a web user interface. Millions of compound structures and descriptive datasets can be freely downloaded via FTP. PubChem contains multiple substance descriptions and small molecules with fewer than 100 atoms and 1,000 bonds. More than 80 database vendors contribute to the growing PubChem database.
Ethylenediamine (abbreviated as en when a ligand) is the organic compound with the formula C2H4(NH2)2. This colorless liquid with an ammonia-like odor is a basic amine. It is a widely used building block in chemical synthesis, with approximately 500,000 tonnes produced in 1998. Ethylenediamine is the first member of the so-called polyethylene amines.
Dioxolane is a heterocyclic acetal with the chemical formula (CH2)2O2CH2. It is related to tetrahydrofuran by interchange of one oxygen for a CH2 group. The corresponding saturated 6-membered C4O2 rings are called dioxanes. The isomeric 1,2-dioxolane (wherein the two oxygen centers are adjacent) is a peroxide. 1,3-dioxolane is used as a solvent and as a comonomer in polyacetals.
Longifolene is the common chemical name of a naturally occurring, oily liquid hydrocarbon found primarily in the high-boiling fraction of certain pine resins. The name is derived from that of a pine species from which the compound was isolated, Chemically, longifolene is a tricyclic sesquiterpene. This molecule is chiral, and the enantiomer commonly found in pines and other higher plants exhibits a positive optical rotation of +42.73°. The other enantiomer is found in small amounts in certain fungi and liverworts.
Melitracen is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA), for the treatment of depression and anxiety. In addition to single drug preparations, it is also available as Deanxit, marketed by Lundbeck, a combination product containing both melitracen and flupentixol.
Tricyclics are chemical compounds that contain three interconnected rings of atoms.
Metitepine, also known as methiothepin, is a drug described as a "psychotropic agent" of the tricyclic group which was never marketed. It acts as a non-selective antagonist of serotonin, dopamine, and adrenergic receptors and has antipsychotic properties.
Prothipendyl, also known as azaphenothiazine or phrenotropin, is an anxiolytic, antiemetic, and antihistamine of the azaphenothiazine group which is marketed in Europe and is used to treat anxiety and agitation in psychotic syndromes. It differs from promazine only by the replacement of one carbon atom with a nitrogen atom in the tricyclic ring system. Prothipendyl is said to not possess antipsychotic effects, and in accordance, appears to be a weaker dopamine receptor antagonist than other phenothiazines.
Tetracyclics are cyclic chemical compounds that contain four interconnected rings of atoms, e.g. Tröger's base.
Ketipramine (G-35,259), also known as ketimipramine or ketoimipramine, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) that was tested in clinical trials for the treatment of depression in the 1960s but was never marketed. It differs from imipramine in terms of chemical structure only by the addition of a ketone group, to the azepine ring, and is approximately equivalent in effectiveness as an antidepressant in comparison.
Pinoxepin is an antipsychotic of the tricyclic group with a dibenzoxepin ring system which was developed in the 1960s but was never marketed. It was found in clinical trials to have effectiveness in the treatment of schizophrenia similar to that of chlorpromazine and thioridazine. The drug has marked sedative effects but causes relatively mild extrapyramidal symptoms.
Perlapine, sold under the brand names Hypnodine and Pipnodine, is a hypnotic and sedative of the tricyclic group which is marketed in Japan. It acts primarily as a potent antihistamine, and also has anticholinergic, antiserotonergic, antiadrenergic, and some antidopaminergic activity. The drug has relatively weak affinity for the dopamine D2 receptor (IC50 = 1,803 nM) and, in accordance, is said to be ineffective as an antipsychotic. However, it retains higher affinity for the dopamine D1 receptor (IC50 = 198 nM). Its IC50 values are 19 nM for the α1-adrenergic receptor, 4,945 nM for the α2-adrenergic receptor, and 70 nM for the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. Perlapine is closely related to clotiapine, clozapine, fluperlapine, loxapine, and tilozepine.
Dihydromaltophilin, or heat stable anti-fungal factor (HSAF), is a secondary metabolite of Streptomyces sp. and Lysobacter enzymogenes. HSAF is a polycyclic tetramate lactam containing a single tetramic acid unit and a 5,5,6-tricyclic system. HSAF has been shown to have anti-fungal activity mediated through the disruption of the biosynthesis of Sphingolipid's by targeting a ceramide synthase unique to fungi.
