O-Acetyljervine: A new β-adrenoceptor agonist fromVeratrum album

Intravenous administration ofO-acetyljervine (an alkaloid from Vertrum album) produced a dose-dependent (10–100 μg/kg) fall in blood pressure and tachycardia in anaesthetized normotensive rats. Pretreatment of animals with propranolol (1 mg/kg) abolished these cardiovascular responses ofO-acetyljervine similar to that of isoprenaline (1 μ/kg). In isolated tissue experiments,O-acetyljervine (10–100 μ/ml) produced a dose-dependent relaxation of phenylephrine-induced contraction of the rabbit aorta. In guinea-pig spontaneously beating atria, it caused positive inotropic and chronotropic responses in a dose-dependent fashion (10–100 μ/ml). These responses were abolished in the presence of propranolol (1 μg/ml) similar to that of isoprenaline. These results indicate thatO-acetyljervine is a adrenoceptor stimulant (β1 and β2) like isoprenaline.