Renal effects of veratridine.

Veratridine hydrochloride injected subcutaneously into unanaesthetized rats inhibited water diuresis. A linear relationship between log dose and antidiuretic effect could be established over the dose range 50 to 200 mug./100 g. of body weight. When veratridine hydrochloride was injected intravenously in doses from 10 to 30 mug./100 g., this relationship was also linear. In terms of its antidiuretic action, the alkaloid was approximately five times as effective when given intravenously. Rats anaesthetized with urethane responded to an intravenous injection with a more pronounced inhibition than unanaesthetized animals. Protoveratrine injected intravenously into unanaesthetized rats showed no clear relationship between dose and magnitude of antidiuretic effect. Veratridine hydrochloride injected intravenously had a pronounced hypotensive effect in both anaesthetized and unanaesthetized rats. Treatment with atropine did not affect this hypotensive action significantly. Atropine given subcutaneously 30 min. before an intravenous injection of veratridine hydrochloride abolished or diminished the inhibitory effect of veratridine on water diuresis. Veratridine hydrochloride injected intravenously into unanaesthetized rats caused a marked depression of the clearance of inulin and p-aminohippurate. In unanaesthetized rats with an osmotic diuresis, veratridine hydrochloride produced its usual antidiuretic effect. The urine of rats injected with veratridine hydrochloride produced an antidiuretic effect when injected intravenously into other animals. The antidiuretic potency of such urines was not affected by treatment with thioglycollate. Animals injected with veratridine excreted small amounts of a veratridine-like substance in the urine. These results do not suggest that veratridine in antidiuretic and hypotensive doses stimulated the neurohypophysis in the rat.