The effects of some carbamate local anaesthetics on the guinea-pig ileum

The action of some carbamate local anaesthetics, pentacaine, BK-52 and heptacaine, was compared in the guinea-pig ileum with that of classic local anaesthetics, procaine and trimecaine. Contractions of the ileum were evoked by transmural stimulation, nicotine, acetylcholine, noradrenaline, histamine, K+ and Ba++. Although the evoked contractions were inhibited by all the local anaesthetics, there was a marked difference in their ability to influence the smooth muscle activation induced by different stimuli. The differences among the IC50 values were slight in the case of pentacaine, moderate in the case of trimecaine and BK-52 and large in the case of procaine and heptacaine. It is suggested that besides their effects on the unmyelinated autonomic nerves, the carbamate local anaesthetics studied can also affect the smooth muscle membrane, similarly to the classic agents. The mechanism of their direct effect is discussed.