Basic piperazine structure Piperazine is a six-sided organic ring compound containing two opposing nitrogen atoms (see image).
The piperazines are a broad class of chemical compounds, all of which contain a piperazine functional group.
Piperazines were originally named because of their chemical similarity with piperidine, a constiuent of piperine in the black pepper plant (Piper nigrum). This has led to the erroneous belief that piperazines are naturally derived from black pepper. In reality, no piperazines occur naturally; they are usually artificially synthesized by reacting alcoholic ammonia with 1,2-dichloroethane.
Many piperazines are successful drugs. Notable piperazine drugs include:
A large number of piperazine compounds have anthelmintic (anti-parasitic) action. Their mode of action is generally by paralysing parasites, which allows the host body to easily remove or expel the invading organism. Piperazine hydrate and piperazine citrate are the main anthelminthic piperazines. These drugs are often referred to simply as "piperazine" which may cause confusion between the specific anthelmintic drugs and the entire class of piperazine-containing compounds.
Piperazines are also used in the manufacture of plastics, resins, pesticides, and other industrial materials.
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