Chloride channel activators 

Chloride channel activator agent is a locally acting agent that activates chloride channels in the intestine and increases secretion of intestinal fluid that helps in passing of the stool. It is used to treat chronic constipation especially in patients who have little or no benefit from stool softeners or laxatives.

Chloride channel activators stimulate intestinal fluid secretion without increasing serum electrolyte levels. Lubiprostone—the first chloride channel activator to gain regulatory approval (in the United States)—showed a statistically significant increase in spontaneous bowel movement frequency relative to placebo.

Chloride channel openers have been proposed to treat a variety of such pathologies, most notably including cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which a defect in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein impacts chloride ion transport across epithelial cells.