[citation needed] Early use of emetine was in the form of oral administration of the extract of ipecac root, or ipecacuanha.

Other approaches to reduce nausea involved coated tablets, allowing the drug to be released after digestion in the stomach.

[citation needed] Although it is a potent antiprotozoal, the drug also can interfere with muscle contractions, leading to cardiac failure in some cases.

[6] The compounds to which these mutants exhibit cross-resistance have been shown to share common structural determinants with emetine that are responsible for their biological activities.

The S-form then goes through a Pictet-Spengler type reaction followed by a series of O-methylations and the removal of glucose, with O-methyltransferases and a glycosidase, to form proemetine.

[12] In 2016, a study[13] found that low doses of emetine inhibited cytomegalovirus replication and was synergistic with ganciclovir.