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Salbutamol is a very commonly used direct-acting β2-agonist. This suggests me that it is sympatholytic. However, it has sympathomimetic pathways, see PubChem for Sympathomimetic.
I am trying to think the group of Salbutamol. Sympathomimetic or sympatholytic.
How can you classify Salbutamol into a group?
An agonist works with the receptor: a substance that initiates a physiological response when combined with a receptor; in the case of salbutamol (or albutarol in the US) they activate the beta-2 receptor on the muscles surrounding the airways. They are also known as sympathomimetics, as they imitate β2 adrenergics.
A blocker (or antagonist) is one that that blocks the action of endogenous catecholamines; for that reason, they are also called sympatholytic: antagonistic to or inhibiting the transmission of nerve impulses in the sympathetic nervous system.
It appears you have experienced a simple confusion in terms. Salbutamol/albuterol is definitely a sympathomimetic, used extensively on asthma and COPD.
