THE PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTION OF ESERIDINE

¹ From the Pharmacological Department, Egyptian University, Cairo, Egypt

Apart from the obscure results of the experiments described in the last section, there can be little doubt but that the activity of eseridine, as exemplified by its action on the intact dog, can be shortly described as stimulation of the parasympathetic nerve mechanism. The production of slowing of the heart rate, diminution of blood pressure and of lung volume, increase of intestinal volume, narrowing of the pupil, increase of bronchial secretion is entirely typical of such stimulation. These changes are all abolished by atropine as would be expected under such circumstances.

In the rabbit and toad heart, however, there is no evidence of any action of the drug on the vagus mechanism. The only effect produced by eseridine on these organs is a slowing and weakening of the beat by direct action on the muscle.

In the rabbit intestine, on the other hand, the production of increased movement and enhanced tone, abolished by atropine, prove the action of eseridine in this case also to be exerted on the parasympathetic mechanism.

In every part of this investigation, a close parallelism between the action of eseridine and that of physostigmine has been demonstrated. The two drugs act on the same mechanism and in the same manner in each instance but the activity of the former is only about one-tenth of that of the latter.