1,3-dimethylxanthine; methyl xanthine derivative from tea with diuretic, smooth muscle relaxant, bronchial dilation, cardiac and central nervous system stimulant activities.

A drug used to improve breathing in people who are short of breath. It belongs to the family of drugs called bronchodilators or respiratory smooth muscle relaxants.

A methyl xanthine derivative from tea with diuretic, smooth muscle relaxant, bronchial dilation, cardiac and central nervous system stimulant activities. Theophylline inhibits the 3',5'-CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHODIESTERASE that degrades CYCLIC AMP thus potentiates the actions of agents that act through ADENYLYL CYCLASES and cyclic AMP.

A natural alkaloid derivative of xanthine isolated from the plants Camellia sinensis and Coffea arabica. Theophylline appears to inhibit phosphodiesterase and prostaglandin production, regulate calcium flux and intracellular calcium distribution, and antagonize adenosine. Physiologically, this agent relaxes bronchial smooth muscle, produces vasodilation (except in cerebral vessels), stimulates the CNS, stimulates cardiac muscle, induces diuresis, and increases gastric acid secretion; it may also suppress inflammation and improve contractility of the diaphragm. (NCI04)

Theophylline, alkaloidal drug used in medicine as an antiasthmatic, coronary vasodilator, and diuretic. Theophylline is a xanthine alkaloid, a methylxanthine chemically related to caffeine and theobromine. Along with caffeine, it is an active constituent of tea (Camellia sinensis), but it is...