The action of mebeverine and metabolites on mammalian non-myelinated nerve fibres.

The effect of mebeverine, mebeverine-alcohol and veratric acid on voltage-operated ion channels and on sodium pump activity were studied. The amplitude and duration of the compound action potential evoked in the vagus nerve were decreased by mebeverine but not by the metabolites. The amplitude of the post-tetanic hyperpolarization was decreased by mebeverine while the time constant of decay, representing sodium-potassium pump activity, was not affected by the compounds tested. These results show that mebeverine exerts a local anaesthetic action by blocking voltage-operated sodium channels.