Effect of the antimuscarinic agent pirenzepine on the in vivo biliary secretion of dogs in response to various stimuli.

Pirenzepine is known to be an antiulcer drug with antimuscarinic activity. The present work shows the effect of pirenzepine dihydrochloride on biliary secretion in dogs under normal conditions and after the application of different nervous and humoral stimuli. Pirenzepine (3 mg/kg) was orally administered to unanaesthetized dogs one hour before feeding. This treatment diminished the increase in biliary secretion as well as the intracholedochal pressure that usually followed feeding. On the other hand, a 0.75 mg/kg dose of the antimuscarinic drug intravenously administered to anaesthetized dogs, significantly reduced the increase in intracholedochal pressure produced after the injection of acetylcholine or cholecystokinin (CCK-PZ). Finally, the same dose of pirenzepine eliminated the effect of vagal electrical stimulation on intracholedochal pressure. These results suggest that the effect of pirenzepine on biliary secretion is mainly due to its action on the emptying of the gallbladder.