[Spasmolytic effect of mebeverine on the gastrointestinal motility]

Mebeverine, N-ethyl-4'-[1-methyl-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethylamino] butyl-3,4-dimetoxybenzoate, was studied for its inhibitory effect on the motility of the gastrointestinal tract in vivo and in vitro. In both cases its activity was more evident on the hypermotility induced by some common physiological spasmogenic agents than on basal motility. In various tests it was ascertained that mebeverine was able to inhibit the stimulant actions of all the drugs employed, both those acting on specific receptor sites such as histamine and acetylcholine, and those acting directly on the smooth muscle such as substance P, physalaemin etc. This backs up the suggestion of a nonspecific miotropic effect of mebeverine. This compound has the same spasmolytic action at different levels of the gastrointestinal tract and is decisively stronger than papaverine. The lack of remarkable side-effects in the tests which were carried out in vivo with decisively active doses on the gastrointestinal motility and the good inhibitory effect on human isolated strips of the gastrointestinal tract suggest that mebeverine may be useful in the treatment of clinical morbid conditions characterized by hypertone or hypermotility of the gastrointestinal tract.