Aspects of the pharmacology of a new anthelmintic: pyrantel.

1. The pharmacological properties of an anthelmintic, pyrantel, and some of its analogues have been described and compared with piperazine in a variety of vertebrate and helminth preparations.2. Pyrantel and its analogues in common with nicotine and decamethonium cause spastic paralysis in chicks and contracture of the chick semispinalis and toad rectus abdominis muscles.3. In the soleus and anterior tibialis muscles of the cat, pyrantel in large amounts caused a short-lived neuromuscular block that was preceded by initial depolarization.4. In preparations from cat and rat, pyrantel showed properties common to both competitive and depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drugs.5. Pyrantel blocked the contracture evoked by transmural stimulation and caused a marked contracture of the worm. Piperazine caused a gradually developing reduction in the responses to transmural stimulation and no contracture.6. Pyrantel and its analogues caused a slowly developing contracture of strip preparations of Ascaris, being more than 100 times more active than acetylcholine in this respect. Piperazine caused a relaxation of Ascaris strip preparations and in common with (+)-tubocurarine blocked the responses to acetylcholine and pyrantel analogues on this preparation.7. Pyrantel caused depolarization and increased spike discharge frequency in single muscle cells of Ascaris, these changes being accompanied by increase in tension. Piperazine, on the other hand, caused hyperpolarization and reduction in spike discharge frequency and relaxation, and antagonized the effects of pyrantel.