Carisoprodol is a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant. It is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol, chloroform and acetone. Carisoprodol was a modification of meprobamate, intended to have better muscle relaxing properties, less potential for abuse, and less risk of overdose. The substitution of one hydrogen atom with an isopropyl group on one of the carbamyl nitrogens was intended to yield a molecule with new pharmacological properties. Carisoprodol has a rapid, 30-minute onset of action, with the aforementioned effects lasting about two to six hours. It is metabolized in the liver via the cytochrome P450 oxidase isozyme CYP2C19, excreted by the kidneys and has about an eight-hour half-life. A considerable proportion of carisoprodol is metabolized to meprobamate, which is a known drug of abuse and dependence; this could account for the abuse potential of carisoprodol.
-O285.gif)