Tetrahydrocycline

Tetrahydrocycline is supposedly a highly volative chemical compound.

According to Gaius Baltar, it was one of the compounds used in the precursor test of his original (i.e. ficticious) Cylon detector.

He brought it forward as a means of posturing, preventing Commander Adama and others in the know from realizing that he had no true means of detecting Cylon agents in the Fleet after Galactica's port water tanks are blown open to space, likely by a Cylon saboteur (Water).

Note

Dr. Baltar's medical experience (by way of his panic) may have meant hydroxytetracycline, which is far from a volatile chemical compound on the real-world Earth. The compound is an broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections, from acne and anthrax to the Plague. Otherwise, the closest match to Baltar's term is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana and hashish.