BW-723C86 is a tryptamine

Tryptamine

Tryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid found in plants, fungi, and animals. It is based around the indole ring structure, and is chemically related to the amino acid tryptophan, from which its name is derived...

 derivative drug which acts as a 5-HT_2B

5-HT2B receptor

5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2B, also known as HTR2B, is a 5-HT2 receptor, but also denotes the human gene encoding it.-Function:...

 receptor

Receptor (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, a receptor is a molecule found on the surface of a cell, which receives specific chemical signals from neighbouring cells or the wider environment within an organism...

 agonist

Agonist

An agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor of a cell and triggers a response by that cell. Agonists often mimic the action of a naturally occurring substance...

. It has anxiolytic

Anxiolytic

An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...

effects in animal studies, and is also used for investigating the function of the 5-HT_2B receptor in a range of other tissues.

BW-723C86 is actually a mixed 5-HT_2B / 5-HT_2C agonist, and while it has good selectivity over 5-HT_2A and other serotonin receptor subtypes, it has only around 3x selectivity for 2B over 2C and so is much less selective than most research ligands, but as of 2009 no superior 5-HT_2B agonist is yet available. Highly selective 5-HT_2C antagonists are available however, and so a combination of BW-723C86 with a selective 5-HT_2C antagonist allows 5-HT_2B mediated responses to be studied in isolation.