# Ergonovine

Ergonovine (syn. ergometrine, lysergic acid propanolamide, lysergic acid hydroxymethylethylamide) is a natural ergoamide that is used in obstetrics. Ergonovine was discovered in 1932 and it is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

## Medical uses

Ergonovine has a medical use in obstetrics to facilitate delivery of the placenta and to prevent bleeding after childbirth by causing smooth muscle tissue in the blood vessel walls to narrow, thereby reducing blood flow. It is usually combined with oxytocin (Syntocinon) as syntometrine.
It can induce spasm of the coronary arteries. It is used to diagnose variant (Prinzmetal's) angina.

## Side effects

Possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, chest pain, palpitation, bradycardia, transient hypertension and other cardiac arrhythmias, dyspnea, rashes, and shock. An overdose produces a characteristic poisoning, ergotism or "St. Anthony's fire": prolonged vasospasm resulting in gangrene and amputations; hallucinations and dementia; and abortions.
Gastrointestinal disturbances such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, are common. The drug is contraindicated in pregnancy, vascular disease, and psychosis.

## Pharmacology
### Pharmacodynamics

Ergonovine stimulates the uterus and other smooth muscles. It targets α-adrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonin receptors (the 5-HT$_2$ receptor). Its uterotonic effect has not been identified with a specific receptor type. Ergonovine is an agonist of the serotonin 5-HT$_{2B}$ receptor and has been associated with cardiac valvulopathy.

### Psychedelic Effects

Ergonovine induces psychedelic effects at doses of 2–10mg, in contrast to its medical use in doses of 0.2–0.4mg. The most common source of ergonovine for drug users is Ipomoea tricolor seeds, as they are the only commonly available natural product that hosts an ergoline-generating fungus. The ergonovine content of I. tricolor seeds varies between one-tenth and one-third of ergine, an ergonovine analog. One person who had the opportunity to try ergonovine to see its psychedelic potential stated that it was mild relative to other psychedelics, but that ergine may synergize with it; indeed the contrast between Hofmann's self-administration of Ipomoea corymbosa extract and synthetic ergine is apparent in his essay on the initial analysis of I. corymbosa and I. tricolor seeds.
   The psychoactive property of these simple lysergic acid amides, closely related to LSD, is well established. The question presented itself whether ergonovine, being not only an alkaloidal component of ergot but also of ololiuhqui, possessed hallucinogenic activity. In the light of its chemical structure this did not seem unlikely: it does not differ much from LSD. But one may ask why, if it is hallucinogenic, this astonishing fact has not been announced, in the light of its use over recent decades in obstetrics. Undoubtedly the answer lies in the extremely low dosage of ergonovine used to stop postpartum bleeding, viz 0.1 to 0.25 mg. The effective dose of lysergic acid amide is 1 to 2 mg by oral application. I decided therefore to test in a self-experiment a corresponding dose of ergonovine: –Albert Hofmann

## History

The pharmacological properties of ergot were known and had been utilized by midwives for centuries, but were not thoroughly researched and publicized until the early 20th century. However, its abortifacient effects and the danger of ergotism meant that it was only prescribed cautiously, as in the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage.
Ergonovine was first isolated and obtained by the chemists C Moir, H W Dudley and Gerald Rogers in 1935. Caroline De Costa has argued that the adoption of ergonovine for preventive use and for treating bleeding contributed to the decline in the maternal mortality rate in much of the West during the early 20th century.

## Society and culture
### Legal status

Ergonovine is listed as Table I precursors under the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, as possible precursor compound for LSD. As an N-alkyl derivative of ergine, ergonovine is also covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, effectively rendering it illegal in the United Kingdom.