Chloralose (also known as α-chloralose) is an

avicide An avicide is any substance (normally a chemical) used to kill birds. Commonly used avicides include strychnine (also used as rodenticide and predacide), DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline hydrochloride, Starlicide) and CPTH (3-chloro-p-toluid ...

, and a

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...

used to kill mice in temperatures below 15 °C. It is also widely used in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the science, scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a Multidisciplinary approach, multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, an ...

and veterinary medicine as an

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

and

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but ...

. Either alone or in combination, such as with urethane, it is used for long-lasting, but light anesthesia. Chemically, it is a

chlorinated In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers ...

acetal In organic chemistry, an acetal is a functional group with the connectivity . Here, the R groups can be organic fragments (a carbon atom, with arbitrary other atoms attached to that) or hydrogen, while the R' groups must be organic fragments n ...

derivative of

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...

. It is listed in Annex I of

Directive 67/548/EEC The Dangerous Substances Directive (as amended) was one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety, until its full replacement by the new regulation CLP Regulation (2008), starting in 2016. It was made under Article 100 (Art. 94 i ...

with the classification ''Harmful'' (Xn) Chloralose exerts

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential a ...

-like actions on

synaptic transmission Neurotransmission (Latin: ''transmissio'' "passage, crossing" from ''transmittere'' "send, let through") is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron ...

in the brain, including potent effects at inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABA_AR). A structural isomer of chloralose, β-chloralose (also called parachloralose in older literature), is inactive as a GABA_AR modulator and also as a general anesthetic. Chloralose is often abused for its avicide properties. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, protected birds of prey have been killed using the chemical. Legal using for bird control also often causes raptor mortalities from secondary poisoning, as well as primary poisoning of non-target species from eating bait, for example, kererū pigeon in New Zealand.

References

Acetals Polyols Monosaccharide derivatives Rodenticides Avicides GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators Sedatives General anesthetics Trichloromethyl compounds {{sedative-stub