Scopolamine
Scopolamine – Scopolamine is a tropane alkaloid drug with muscarinic antagonist effects. It is obtained from plants of the family Solanaceae, such as henbane, jimson weed and Angel’s Trumpets, and corkwood. Scopolamine has other name levo-duboisine and hyoscine.
Scopolamine has been used in the past to treat addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine. The patient was given frequent doses of scopolamine until they were delerious. This treatment using Scopolamine was maintained for 2 to 3 days after which they were treated with pilocarpine.
Today, scopolamine is being investigated for its possible usefulness alone or in conjunction with other drugs in assisting people in breaking the nicotine habit. When scopolamine combined with morphine, scopolamine is useful for pre-medication for surgery or diagnostic procedures and was widely used in obstetrics in the past.
