| RESEARCH PAPER |
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| Year : 1983 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 3 | Page : 223-234 |
Effect of digoxin on myocardial acetylcholine content and cholinesterase activity in dog, rat and frog
HC Tripathi, PK Das
Correspondence Address:
H C Tripathi
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
Experiments were conducted in dogs, rats and frogs. Digoxin (100 'g/kg) did not have any significant effect on the myocardial cholinesterase (ChE) activity in the dog and frog. The blood ChE activity was not significantly affected in the dog, but was inhibited in the rat and frog. The in vivo effect of digoxin in the blood ChE activity were confirmed by in vitro experiments. Physostigmine significantly inhibited myocardial and blood ChE activity in these animals. These studies indicate that in contrast to physostigmine, digoxin effect on ChE activity is weak and species-dependent. The artial acetylcholine (ACh) content was significantly raised by digoxin treatment in the dog, rat and frog but the ventricular ACh content was raised only in the dog. The increase in the ACh content due to digoxin treatment could not be correlated to inhibition of ChE activity, and might be due to the increase in the rate of ACh synthesis in the cholinergic neurones. The increase in the ACh content may be one of the factors responsible for the increased cholinergic influence on the heart following digoxin treatment.
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