ergotamine

[ur-got-uh-meen, -min]

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a crystalline, water-soluble polypeptide, C 33 H 35 N 5 O 5 , obtained from ergot, used to stimulate uterine contractions during labor and in the treatment of migraine.

ergotamine

1. A crystalline alkaloid derived from ergot that induces vasoconstriction and is used especially in the treatment of migraine headaches. Chemical formula: C ₃₃ H ₃₅ N ₅ O ₅ .

Word History and Origins

Origin of ergotamine¹

First recorded in 1920–25; ergot + -amine

Example Sentences

Yet even refined, synthetic versions of ergotamine can dangerously narrow blood vessels, so doctors and patients welcomed the triptans, which selectively constrict the blood vessels of the brain.

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V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE Yet even refined, synthetic versions of ergotamine can dangerously narrow blood vessels, so doctors and patients welcomed the triptans, which selectively constrict the blood vessels of the brain.

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Indeed, they had already had some success with this approach, having succeeded in the isolation and marketing of ergotamine, a leading drug for the treatment of migraine.

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After Stoll’s isolation of ergotamine, this was a further step in ergot research and proved to be of practical as well as scientific importance.

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Once, when I requisitioned 0.5 grams of ergotamine from the ergot plant which produced it in batches of several kilograms, Professor Stoll personally came to my lab and reproached me for using so much.

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