Propanidid (Epontol) is an analgetically potent and shortterm anesthetic, widely used in the 1960s. It was originally introduced by Bayer in 1963. Epontol, an injectable emulsion formulation of propanidid, provided by Bayer, was withdrawn from the market in Great Britain in 1983 because of concern over anaphylactoid reactions. Thus, in spite of the fact that propanidid provides shorter and more predictable recovery times than propofol, it has not been accepted widely as an injectable anesthetic. Even though Cremophor EL has been shown to cause anaphylactic reactions in humans in several cases (both when given intravenously and orally), it is still debated whether or not propanidid itself may have contributed to the reactions. It has been argued that the toxic effects or reactions to propanidid (and Althesin) were due to the drugs themselves. Several cases of negative reactions have been recorded for different drugs using Cremophor EL as solubilizer. This suggest that the negative reactions were mainly caused by Cremophor and not by the drug substances themselves. Propanidid is presumed to work as a GABA receptor agonist.