Veratridine is a steroidal alkaloid found in plants of the lily family, specifically the genera Veratrum and Schoenocaulon.

Like the other steroidal alkaloids found in these plants and similar ones in the Melanthiaceae family, it is present as part of a glycosidal combination, bonded to carbohydrate moieties.

This, and later purification procedures, begin with veratrine, a mixture of the alkaloids present in the Veratrum plants, primarily containing cevadine and veratridine.

The resulting influx of Na+ also leads to the increase of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations, causing the overproduction of reactive oxygen species responsible for neuronal damage.

[12] Veratridine's ability to depolarize cells by affecting sodium channels lends it its applicability as a neuropharmacological tool for the study of electrical properties of nerve and muscle fibers.

[3] It has also been tested as a treatment for myasthenia gravis, in light of its potential to increase muscle responses to motor neuron stimulation.

It has the potential of enhancing protein tyrosine phosphorylation, which takes place during capacitation, and its effects are inhibited in the presence of lidocaine and tetrodotoxin.

The activation of Nav1.8 is a key point in Veratradine's mechanism of action and, consequently, this sodium ion channel coordinates the effects of this compound.