Reserpine

Reserpine (C₃₃H⁴⁰N₂O₉), tranquilizing drug used to treat mild forms of hypertension (high blood pressure). Extracted from the roots of the Rauwol-fia serpentina plant of India and Southeast Asia, reserpine was isolated in 1952. It came into Western medical usage to calm mental patients in 1953. For centuries, the powdered whole root had been used in India to treat the mentally ill. Since the 1960s, more effective drugs have superseded it, but low doses of reserpine are still used to relieve minor cases of hypertension.