Importance of atropine

Atropine is a solanaceous alkaloid found in the deadly nightshade plant Atropa belladonna. It has specific rotation of -22 degrees and is an ester of tropic acid that hydrolyzes into tropine and tropic acid. Atropine is an important class of drug that is used as a mydriatic in eye drops to dilate pupils, to treat bradycardia by increasing heart rate, and to inhibit secretions from glands via effects on the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. It is also used to treat poisoning from organophosphate insecticides and nerve agents by blocking muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.