Effect of disodium cromoglycate and Picrorhiza kurroa root powder on sensitivity of guinea pigs to histamine and sympathomimetic amines.

Four weeks pretreatment with disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) and the powdered roots of the herb Picrorhiza kurroa, Benth, rendered guinea pigs less sensitive to histamine when compared with appropriate controls. The bronchodilator effects of isoprenaline and adrenaline were found to be markedly enhanced. The severity and duration of the allergic bronchospasm was significantly less in animals pretreated with the two drugs. Furthermore, the total histamine content of the lung tissue in animals pretreated with DSCG and P. kurroa was significantly less than that in the untreated controls. The pretreatment was also found to exhibit inhibitory effect on the immunological release of histamine and SRS-A from chopped lungs.