Scopolamine patches

Scopolamine is a muscarinic receptor antagonist (parasympatholytic), belladonna alkaloid with a tertiary nitrogen group and a molar mass of 303.35 g-mol-1 and an average half-life of about 1.5 h. Together with atropine it occurs naturally in the nightshade plants belladonna, henbane and thorn-apple (tropane alkaloids). Scopolamine is highly soluble in water, especially in hot ethanol (Roth L 1984). Muscarinic receptor antagonists with a tertiary nitrogen group act both in the periphery and in the CNS (Graefe KH 2016). Scopolamine is used as a transdermal patch to prevent the symptoms of travel or seasickness such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

1. Graefe KH et al muscarinic receptor antagonists. In: Graefe KH et al (Eds) Pharmacology and Toxicology. Georg Thieme Publisher Stuttgart S.114-115
2. Roth L et al (1984) Scopolamine. In: Roth L et al. (Eds) Poisonous plants, plant toxins. Nikol Publishing Company Hamburg p.921