Compound Monograph
Piperazine
Piperazine is a simple heterocyclic amine best known as an anthelmintic drug and as a chemical building block.
Sources
Where Does It Come From?
Piperazine is a synthetic heterocyclic amine. It is flagged as moderately toxic.
Research & Evidence
Piperazine is a six-membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms. The unsubstituted molecule is used industrially as a chemical intermediate and, medicinally, as an anthelmintic that paralyses intestinal roundworms and pinworms by acting on their neuromuscular junctions. The “piperazine” name also lends itself to a large family of substituted derivatives used in pharmaceuticals (including some antihistamines) and, separately, in recreational designer drugs; those derivatives are distinct compounds from the parent amine described here.
Toxicity & Safety
At therapeutic anthelmintic doses piperazine is generally well tolerated, but overdose or use in people with kidney impairment or epilepsy can cause neurological effects such as dizziness, muscle incoordination and seizures. It is corrosive in concentrated industrial form. Medical use should follow professional guidance.
