Ambenoxan (hydrochloride)

Ambenoxan hydrochloride is a central nervous system-acting skeletal muscle relaxant that is effective in mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, and monkeys without loss of the righting reflex. It has no peripheral neuromuscular blocking effects and significantly reduces or eliminates decerebrate rigidity in rabbits, but does not antagonize the effects of strychnine, leptazol, or tremorine. Like other central nervous system depressants, ambenoxan prolongs sleep duration with hexobarbitone, but it has no local anesthetic effects. In anesthetized cats, the agent lowers blood pressure and reduces the pressor response to epinephrine, but has no effect on norepinephrine.