Parthenolide inhibits the contractile responses of rat stomach fundus to fenfluramine and dextroamphetamine but not serotonin.

The isolated rat stomach fundus preparation, a sensitive bioassay to evaluate serotonin-(5-HT) like activity, was used as a model to study the effects of parthenolide (PAR), a component to Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew), on 5-HT storage, release and stimulation of the 5-HT2B receptor. Cumulative-concentration response curves to 5-HT and the indirect-acting serotonergics fenfluramine (F) and dextroamphetamine (DA) on fundus were obtained in the presence and absence of 1 x 10(-6) to 1 x 10(-5) PAR. 5-HT release elicited by F and DA was indirectly assessed by comparing the contraction elicited by these compounds on tissues from reserpine-treated, L-p-chlorophenylalanine (l-PCPA)-treated and untreated rats. The observed order of agonist potencies on intact fundus was: 5-HT > DA > F and the order of intrinsic activity was: 5-HT > DA > F. PAR did not show agonist effects nor antagonism toward 5-HT on rat fundus at all concentrations used. However, PAR antagonized non-competitively the effects of F and DA. Contractile responses to 5-HT were not significantly different on mucosa-denuded fundus and tissue strips from untreated, l-PCPA- and reserpine-treated rats. PAR appears to inhibit 5-HT release mediated responses by the indirect-acting 5-HT agonists on fundal tissue.