Corvalol

Corvalol is a tranquilizer based on the barbiturate phenobarbital, combined with the ethyl ester of alpha-bromoisovaleric acid, peppermint oil, valerian root extract, and hop extract, and it is popular in Eastern Europe and former Soviet territories. It was developed in the USSR in 1960 as an analogue of the German drug Valocordin and is similar to it in composition and therapeutic action. Corvalol is widely available without a prescription in Eastern European and former Soviet countries, but it is illegal to import into the United States because phenobarbital is a controlled substance there; the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Farmak holds exclusive trademark rights to it in Ukraine and several other Eastern European countries, while multiple manufacturers distribute it in Russia.