PARALLEL OBSERVATION ON THE DEPRESSOR AND TISSUECATECHOLAMINE-DEPLETING EFFECTS IN RENAL HYPERTENSIVE RATS FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH THE ROOT ALKALOID OF CHINESE RAUWOLFIA

Following treatment with the root alkaloid of Chinese Rauwolfia in daily doses of 2mg/kg for 7 days, the renal hypertensive rats responded with a gradual fall of blood pressure along with a progressive depletion of heart catecholamines, while insignificant fluctuations occurred with the catecholamine content of adrenals. Throughout the course of treatment neither sedation nor drowsiness was noticed. By correlating these results with our observations on reserpine reported elsewhere, it is suggested that the chronic hypotensive effect of the root alkaloid of Chinese Rauwolfia may be largely due to its reserpine content.