(antimuscarinic agent) Natural or synthetic Antimuscarinic Agents inhibit acetylcholine neurotransmitter action at muscarinic receptors. Antimuscarinic drugs are used as antiarrhythmic, antiparkinson, antiasthmatic, and antispasmodic agents, as well as antidote of the natural mushroom alkaloid muscarine (Amanita muscaria) or to prevent parasympathetic stimulation at neuroeffector junctions. (NCI04)

Drugs that bind to but do not activate MUSCARINIC RECEPTORS, thereby blocking the actions of endogenous ACETYLCHOLINE or exogenous agonists. Muscarinic antagonists have widespread effects including actions on the iris and ciliary muscle of the eye, the heart and blood vessels, secretions of the respiratory tract, GI system, and salivary glands, GI motility, urinary bladder tone, and the central nervous system.