ABSTRACT
Both a chlorophyll-deficient mutant of Hordeum jubatum and Arundo donax are sources of gramine, from which isogramine and then lidocaine were derived. With the increased interest in local anaesthetics Heinrich Braun, a prominent German surgeon and strong advocate of local anaesthesia, developed five criteria for the 'ideal local anaesthetic'. Procaine was irritant to tissues, had a short effect time and did not store well but was deemed the most successful of all other available local anaesthetics at the time. Lidocaine is commonly given by injection and takes effect within minutes and lasts for up to three hours. It can be injected under the skin in the region where local anaesthesia is required, for example for suturing wounds, or around a nerve (‘nerve block’) for dental work. Intravenous lidocaine was also noted to be useful in reversing fatal rhythm disturbances of the heart. Lidocaine remains a trusted treatment for life-threatening rhythm disturbances which are refractory to other drug treatments.
