Biography karen carpenter

Plant-derived drug used for airway decongestion and to induce vomiting

"Ipecac" redirects here. For other uses, see Ipecac (disambiguation).

Pharmaceutical compound

Syrup of ipecac (), or simply ipecac, is a drug that was once widely used as an expectorant (in low doses) and a rapid-acting emetic (in higher doses).

It is obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant (Carapichea ipecacuanha), from which it derives its name. It is no longer regularly used in medicine.

In particular, the rapidly induced forceful vomiting produced by ipecac was considered for many years to be an important front-line treatment for orally ingested poisons.

However, subsequent studies (including a comprehensive 2005 meta-study) revealed the stomach purging produced by ipecac to be far less effective at lowering total body poison concentrations than the adsorption effect of oral activated charcoal (which is effective through the entire gastrointestinal trac