Clenbuterol is agonist of beta2 adrenergic receptor. In some countries it is used as bronchodilator for treatment of asthma, but is not approved in USA. The drug is abused by bodybuilders and athletes for its ability to increase lean muscle mass and to reduce body fat. In 1998 FDA approved the clenbuterol-based Ventipulmin Syrup as a prescription-only drug for treatment of airway obstruction in horses.

Ractopamine is a feed additive to promote leanness in animals raised for their meat. Pharmacologically, it is a TAAR1 agonist and β adrenoreceptor agonist that stimulates β1 and β2 adrenergic receptors. Ractopamine is known to increase the rate of weight gain, improve feed efficiency, and increase carcass leanness in finishing swine. Its use in finishing swine yields about three kilograms of additional lean pork and improves feed efficiency by 10%. Ractopamine is the active ingredient in products known as Paylean for swine and Optaflexx for cattle, developed by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, for use in food animals for growth promotion. Ractopamine use has been banned in most countries, including the European Union, mainland China and Russia while 27 other countries, such as Japan, the United States, Canada, and South Korea, have deemed meat from livestock fed ractopamine safe for human consumption. Ractopamine is safe for finishing pigs heavier than 240 lb (110 kg) when administered in the diet at concentrations up to 10 ppm and fed for up to 35 days.

Zilpaterol is an agonist of β2-adrenergic receptor. Zilpaterol exerts bronchospasmolytic action. Zilmax® (4.8% Zilpaterol hydrochloride) is used to increase rate of bodyweight gain, improve feed efficiency, and increase carcass leanness in cattle fed in confinement for a period of 20-40 consecutive days at the end of the feeding period before slaughter.

Alprenolol is a beta adrenoreceptor blocking agent and 5HT1A antagonist, developed by AstraZeneca and now available as generic drug. It is used for treatment of hypertension, angina pectoris due to coronary atherosclerosis and acute myocardial infarction.

Bunitrolol is a beta-adrenergic antagonist that can be used for treatment of coronary heart disease. It improves cardiac performance after beta-blockade in patients with coronary artery disease. Bunitrolol was found to have a greater beta 1 than beta 2 adrenergic activity and a weak alpha 1 blocking action.

(R)-Timolol is the (R)-enantiomer of non-selective Beta antagonist Timolol. (R)-Timolol is a ß-adrenergic blocking agent that binds only to nonspecific sites in the particulate fraction of the heart, lungs, and brain. (R)-Timolol is an antihypertensive agent that increases ocular blood flow and reduces intraocular pressure. (R)-Timolol is one of the impurities in commercial formulation of (S)-Timolol.

3-ISOPROPYLAMINO-1,2-PROPANEDIOL (Indenolol) is an antihypertensive agent, whose beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist properties combined with beta 2-adrenoceptor agonist properties have been shown by experimental studies in animals. It was used for the treatment of angina pectoris, hypertension, arrhythmias

Higenamine HCl (norcoclaurine) is a plant-based alkaloid widely used as nutritional supplement in food and beverage industries. It exists in variety of plants including Tinospora crispa, Nandina domestica, Gnetum Parvifolium C.Y. Cheng, sarum Heterotropoides, Nelumbo nucifera. It was initially isolated from Aconitum and identified as the active cardiotonic component of this medicinal plant used as local and traditional medicines in many Asian regions for the treatment of various diseases such as collapse, syncope, painful joints, oedema, bronchial asthma etc. Various pharmacological properties and potentially multi-spectral medical applications of higenamine have been reviled in many in vitro and in vivo studies conducted in animals and humans. Pharmacological properties of higenamine include positive inotropic and chronotropic effect, activating slow channel effect, vascular and tracheal relaxation effect, anti-thrombotic, anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effect, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effect. Studies on higenamine showed potential therapeutic effects for diseases like heart failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), shock, arthritis, asthma, ischemia/reperfusion injuries and erectile dysfunction. Higenamine has been tested as a candidate of pharmacologic stress agent in the detection of coronary artery diseases (CADs) in human clinical studies in China. In animal models, higenamine has been demonstrated to be a β2 adrenoreceptor agonist. It partly exerts its actions by the activation of adenylate cyclase, responsible for boosting the cellular concentrations of the adrenergic second messenger, cAMP. Via a beta-adrenoceptor mechanism higenamine, induced relaxation in rat corpus cavernosum, leading to improved vasodilation and erectile function. Related to improved vasodilatory signals, higenamine has been shown to possess antiplatelet and antithrombotic activity via a cAMP-dependent pathway, suggesting it may contribute to enhanced vasodilation and arterial integrity. Anti-apoptotic and cardiac protective effects of higenamine were shown to be mediated by the β2-AR/PI3K/AKT cascade. Higenamine is marketed as a dietary supplement for weight loss and sport performance, and is added to many fat burning supplements. Along with many other β2 agonists, higenamine is prohibited by World Anti-Doping Agency for use in sports.

Practolol is a beta-adrenergic antagonist that has been used in the emergency treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Practolol is a cardio-selective beta-blocking agent with an intrinsic sympathomimetic action, but devoid of local anaesthetic effect. It has been found effective in post infarction arrhythmias. In early infarction it reduces the area of necrosis as measured by surface ST segment mapping. Practolol has also been shown to be an effective drug in treating angina. Long-term treatment revealed advantageous effects of practolol on the incidence of anginal attacks and the number of nitroglycerin tablets consumed in daily life. There was also a noticeable improvement in the ECG. The results obtained in a double-blind trial, with placebo, proved the effectiveness of the drug. The treatment enabled the patients to lead appreciably more active lives. A marked increase in work performance, depending on the dose applied, was confirmed in exercise tolerance tests. No side-effects which would call for discontinuance of the treatment were seen during long-term administration with doses up to 800 mg daily. Like other beta-adrenergic antagonists, practolol competes with adrenergic neurotransmitters such as catecholamines for binding at sympathetic receptor sites. Practolol binds at beta(1)-adrenergic receptors in the heart and vascular smooth muscle, inhibiting the effects of the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine and decreasing heart rate, cardiac output, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Practolol, discovered in 1966, was removed from the market due to severe side effects including conjunctival scarring, fibrosis, and metaplasia.

Reproterol is a short-acting β2 adrenoreceptor agonist used in the treatment of asthma. Reproterol increases the generation of cAMP in isolated peripheral blood monocytes in vitro more effectively than does orciprenaline. In the presence of the highly potent but nonselective ß-antagonist, propranolol, the cAMP-generating action of reproterol was inhibited only partially. Reproterol has gained wide use when it was licensed as a fixed combination therapy with cromoglycate. Until today, the bronchodilator effects of reproterol and the bronchoprotective and anti-inflammatory actions of cromoglycate combined in one inhaler remain the successful fixed combination of a disease-modifying and symptomatic drug for the treatment of asthma.