cholinesterase inhibitor cholinesterase inhibitor cholinesterase inhibitors (cheis), also known as anti-cholinesterase, are chemicals that prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine or butyrylcholine. this increases the amount of the acetylcholine or butyrylcholine in the synaptic cleft that can bind to muscarinic receptors, nicotinic receptors and others. this group of inhibitors is divided into two subgroups, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (acheis) and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors (bcheis). not to be confused with acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, anti-cholinergic, or cholinergic. cholinesterase inhibitordrug classclass identifiersusealzheimer's diseaseatc coden06damechanism of actionenzyme inhibitorbiological targetcholinesteraseclinical datadrugs.comdrug classeswebmdmedicinenet