Natural Antispasmodics: Source, Stereochemical Configuration, and Biological Activity

Table 2

Representative organisms producing spasmodic compounds.

Compound	Organism	Symptoms	Mechanism	Reference
Bacterial
Botulinum toxin	Clostridium botulinum	Muscular relaxation	Secretion of acetylcholine into synapses is blocked	[3]
Tetanospasmin	Clostridium tetani	Muscular spasm	Inhibits the binding of GABA and glycine	[4]
Marine
Nematocyst venom extract	Sea anemones	Nausea, vomiting, muscle cramp, severe pain, paralysis	Delay in the voltage-dependent Na^+ channels inactivation	[5]
Nematocyst venom extract	Chironex fleckeri (Cnidaria)	Contraction of arterial smooth muscle	Increase of cytosolic Ca^2+ concentration	[6]
Ciguatoxin	Gambierdiscus toxicus (Dinoflagellate)	Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, intestinal spasm	Interact with voltage-gated increasing the Na^+ permeability and Ca^2+ homeostasis	[7]
Chordata	Plotosus lineatus (Catfish)	Violent pain, shock, spasm	Increase of the vascular permeability in peritoneum	[8]
Terrestrial
Ergotamine	Claviceps purpurea (fungus)	Seizure, spasms psychosis, nausea, vomiting	Agonist of several neurotransmitter receptors	[9]
α-Latrotoxin	Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (black widow spider)	Facial flushing, hypertension, muscle spasm, tachycardia	Causes Ca^2+-dependent and -independent release of neurotransmitters	[10]
Vanillo-toxin, hanatoxin, huwentoxin	Tarantula species	Severe pain, cramps, erythema, swelling, tachycardia	Unrevealed	[11–14]
β-Neurotoxin	Mesobuthus martensii (scorpion)	Increases muscular contraction, spasm, convulsion	Modulates Ca^2+ channels	[15]
Crotoxin	Crotalus durissus terrificus (rattlesnake)	Severe pain, drooping eyelids, low blood pressure, muscle weakness	Blocks the cholinergic post-synaptic response	[16]