COUGH INDUCED BY 1 ,1-DIMETHYL-4-PHENYLPIPERAZINIUM IODIDE: A NEW ANTITUSSIVE METHOD

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Consumer Products Research Division, Warner-Lambert Research Institute, Morris Plains, New Jersey

The intravenous administration of 1 , 1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium iodide (DMPP) has been found to induce cough in cats anesthetized with -chloralose. The number of coughs evoked was found to be a linear function of the dose of DMPP. By virtue of these findings, a method has been developed which utilizes single or multiple doses of DMPP for the quantitative evaluation of antitussive activity. Several classical antitussives were tested by this method with d-methorphan HBr serving as the reference standard. The relative potency obtained in the order of decreasing activity was: d-methorphan HBr, carbetapentane citrate, codeine SO₄ and chlophedianol HCl. Noscapine HCl, homarylamine HCl, caramiphen ethanedisulfonate and benzonatate were found to be inactive.