Nicotine pharmacological applications

Newhouse, P.A., Kelton, M., 1999. Clinical aspects of nicotinic agents therapeutic applications in central nervous system disorders. In Clementi, F., Gotti, C., Fomasari, D. (Eds.), Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors. Springer, Heidelberg, in press. 

From all the pure alkaloids tested a- and yS-erythroidine exhibit the highest activity (727). They have been assumed to be the principles responsible for the hypnotic activity of the extracts of the flowers of E. americana 19). /)-Eyrthroidine (225) and its more potent 2,7-dihydro-derivative 226 have been used as muscle relaxant in numerous clinical applications 114, 120). This activity is attributed to an antagonistic action of dihydro-/3-erythroidine to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which is now well known and is frequently used in the experimental pharmacology (79, 725, 726). 

---