SOME PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIONS OF LYCORINE

When sodium evipan, sodium pentothal, chloral hydrate, or ethyl alcohol was used, lycorine (12 mg/kg I. P.) might prolong the sleeping time of mice by 2-4 times that of the control group. A very pronounced sedative action was observed when according to Richter's torsion method it was used intraperitoneally to mice with the dose level of 2-10 mg/kg. It lowered the temperature of normal rabbits and rabbits with fever induced by ty- phoid vaccine. It depressed the basal metabolic rate of mice and decreased the ATP content of the intact hearts of rabbits, both auricles and ventricles (3-12 mg/kg I. V.). Lycorine also inhibited the activity of the kidney succinic dehydrogenase when used intraperitoneally to the mice with the dose, level above 10 mg/kg. It is interesting to note that large amount of ascorbic acid (5-50 mg/mouse I.P.) might potentiate the toxicity of lycorine. This was contrary to what the literature had stated. From the experiments of conditioned reflex on rats and the emetic effect on dogs, it was found that 3 mg/kg of lycorine hypodermically injected was the appropriate dose level for practical significance.