NORADRENALINE CONTENT IN THE HEART AND SPLEEN OF THE MOUSE UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS AND AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF SOME DRUGS

Abstract

The noradrenaline content of the heart and spleen was investigated in normal mice and in mice treated with drugs. A modification of the methods of Bertler, Carlsson & Rosengren (1958) was used for extraction, and of v. Euler & Floding (1955) for fluorimetric estimation of the amine. In normal mice the mean noradrenaline content of the heart was 0.55 μg/g and that of the spleen 0.26 μg/g fresh tissue. Iproniazid (100 mg/kg), nicotine (0.1 mg/kg) and histamine (0.5 mg/kg), given 1 and 3 hr before killing the mice, did not significantly change the concentration of noradrenaline in the heart. Neither did nicotine and histamine, administered 1 hr before death, significantly alter the noradrenaline content of the spleen. The rapid changes in the catechol amine content of mouse tissues reported with these drugs by De Schaepdryver & Preziosi (1959) were not observed. In contrast, reserpine (2.5 mg/kg), methyl reserpate methyl ether (1 mg/kg), and methyl 18-epireserpate methyl ether (2 mg/kg) caused severe depletion of noradrenaline from the heart and spleen of the mice.