THE EFFECT OF RESERPINE ON CATECHOLAMINE LEVELS IN THE GRAVID RAT AND ITS OFFSPRING

¹ Department of Pharmacology, West Virginia University Medical Center, Morgantown, West Virginia

Reserpine was administered daily to gravid rats during the last 10 days of gestation. Whole newborn rats were homogenized in a Waring Blendor and their epinephrine and norepinephrine contents determined by an automated trihydroxyindole procedure (Robinson and Watts, 1965). The norepinephrine content was found to decrease significantly. Catecholamine contents of adrenals, hearts and submaxillary glands of both the mother and newborn offspring were determined by the trihydroxyindole method of Euler and Lishajko (1959). The norepinephrime content of all three of the mother's organs and the epinephrine content of her adrenals were significantly reduced both in absolute amounts and when related to weights of the organs. The same changes were found to occur in organs of the newborn with the exception that the adrenals were not significantly depleted of epinephrine and norepinephrine if the amines were related to the weight of the glands. The adrenal weights of the mother were found to increase significantly while those of the newborn offspring were significantly reduced. Litter size and birth weights of offspring showed a tendency to decrease but neither was significantly affected. The number of dead young per litter increased significantly.

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