Xylazine (XLZ)

Xylazine is a drug that is used for sedation, anesthesia, muscle relaxation, and analgesia in animals such as horses, cattle and other non-human mammals. An analogue of clonidine, it is an agonist at the α2 class of adrenergic receptor. As with other α2 agonists, adverse effects include bradycardia, conduction disturbances, and myocardial depression. Yohimbine (Yobine), tolazoline (commercial name Tolazine), and atipamezole (commercial name Antisedan) can be used to reverse xylazine effects. In veterinary anesthesia, xylazine is often used in combination with ketamine. No formal information in humans is available. Xylazine is also used to shorten the effects of musth on male elephants in Asia. Veterinarians use xylazine as an emetic when it is desirable to remove a substance from a cat's stomach. In one trial, pilocarpine was used instead of xylazine.