Antisialagogues are drugs or substances that decrease the flow rate of

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...

and their effect is opposite to that of

sialagogue __NOTOC__ A sialogogue (also spelled sialagogue, ptysmagogue or ptyalagogue) is a drug or substance that increases the flow rate of saliva. Sialogogues can be used in the treatment of xerostomia (the subjective feeling of having a dry mouth), to s ...

s. Their origin may be both natural and synthetic.

Anticholinergic Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agents) are substances that block the action of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) at synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system. These agents inhibit the parasympathetic nervous syste ...

s generally have antisialagogue effects, and most produce some level of

sedation Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure. Examples of drugs which can be used for sedation include isoflurane, diethyl ether, ...

, both being advantageous in

surgical procedures Many surgical procedure names can be broken into parts to indicate the meaning. For example, in gastrectomy, "ectomy" is a suffix meaning the removal of a part of the body. "Gastro-" means stomach. Thus, ''gastrectomy'' refers to the surgical rem ...

. Classic antisialagogues include: *

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given ...

, * opium, *

alkalies In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a s ...

, * belladonna, *

hyoscyamus ''Hyoscyamus'' — known as the henbanes — is a small genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It comprises 11 species, all of which are toxic. It, along with other genera in the same family, is a source of the drug hyosc ...

, *

stramonium ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a species belonging to the ''Datura'' genus a ...

, *

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...

in excess, * all nauseous or insipid substances.

References

Drugs acting on the gastrointestinal system and metabolism Drugs_by_target_organ_system Anticholinergics {{gastrointestinal-drug-stub