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Showing papers on "Arecoline published in 1983"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Mood, behavioral, and neurochemical responses to arecoline, which appears to have nonspecific neurochemical effects at the dose employed, are not markers of vulnerability to affective illness.
Abstract: Cholinergic supersensitivity has been postulated to be an etiologic factor in affective disorder. After several pilot dose-response studies, we administered 8 mg of the cholinergic agonist arecoline subcutaneously to eight pairs of normal volunteer identical twins and eight bipolar patients currently euthymic and unmedicated. During the hour following arecoline administration, the Profile of Mood States (POMS) showed an increase in total mood disturbance in both patient and control groups. Mean systolic blood pressure, pulse, plasma cortisol, prolactin, and growth hormone also increased. Anger and elation scores on the POMS showed significant concordance in identical twins, as did change in prolactin, implying that these are the components of drug response possibly influenced by genetic factors. None of these responses differentiated well state patients from controls. Thus, mood, behavioral, and neurochemical responses to arecoline, which appears to have nonspecific neurochemical effects at the dose employed, are not markers of vulnerability to affective illness.

67 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The hypothesis is that during chewing, arecoline, the major alkaloid of the betel nut, gives rise to carcinogenic N-nitrosamines, which are likely to favor the formation of these three nitrosamines in betel quid chewers.
Abstract: Betel quid chewing is strongly associated with cancer of the oral cavity. Extracts of betel quid are tumorigenic in the experimental animal, but thus far, not a single carcinogen has been detected in the tobacco free quid. This study is based on the hypothesis that during chewing, arecoline, the major alkaloid of the betel nut, gives rise to carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. In vitro experiments reported here have shown that N-nitrosation of arecoline leads to N-nitrosoguvacoline (NG), 3-(methylnitrosamino)propionitrile (MNPN) and 3-(methylnitrosoamino)propionaldehyde. Although, according to an earlier study. NG is most likely not carcinogenic, MNPN is suspected to be a relatively strong animal carcinogen based on bioassays with its lower homologue. The conditions prevailing in the oral cavity of betel quid chewers are likely to favor the formation of these three nitrosamines.

50 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: The present finding of twin concordance in response to arecoline suggests genetic variation in sensitivity of CNS muscarinic cholinergic receptors may play an etiologic role in affective disorder.

34 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There was a significant increase in the frequency of SCEs after exposure to either arecoline or caffeine, and when these two alkaloids were given in combination, the SCE frequency-enhancing effect was additive.

33 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: It is suggested that arecoline stimulated the muscarinic as well as nicotinic receptors in the s.c.g. of cat and that acetylcholine is likely to be involved partially in the gangliomimetic effects of are coline.
Abstract: Arecoline (10-500 micrograms) stimulated the superior cervical ganglion (s.c.g.) of cat following intra-arterial injection into the ganglion. The ganglion stimulating effect of arecoline was weaker than that of dimethylphenylpiperizinium (DMPP) but stronger than that of pilocarpine. Similarly, the time course of response to arecoline was slower than that of DMPP but faster than that of pilocarpine. The gangliomimetic effects of arecoline, nicotine and DMPP are prevented by hexamethonium, tetraethylammonium and high doses of nicotine and arecoline. Eserine potentiated the response to arecoline but not that to DMPP and nicotine. Response to submaximal preganglionic stimulation and KCl were potentiated by arecoline and pilocarpine but not by DMPP and nicotine. The responses to arecoline and pilocarpine were also prevented by atropine which did not alter the responses to DMPP and nicotine. It is suggested that arecoline stimulated the muscarinic as well as nicotinic receptors in the s.c.g. of cat and that acetylcholine is likely to be involved partially in the gangliomimetic effects of arecoline.

6 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: Significantly high radioactivity was observed in all the fractions under study at 10 minutes indicating possibility of interaction with intact arecoline, and pretreatment of sulfhydryl reaction reagents decreased the specific activity of protein in mice injected with 3H areColine.
Abstract: : In an attempt to understand the mechanism of action of arecoline at molecular level, interaction of 3H arecoline with DNA, RNA, Protein in glutathione was studied in Swiss mice. Six week old Swiss strain male mice were injected (ip) with 3H arecoline (1 'ci/g body wt). Animals were killed at different time intervals (10 min, 3 h, 18 h 24 h, 7 days) after the injection. DNA, RNA, protein and glutathione were isolated by standard methods and radioactivity was measured from these fractions. Among all these fractions maximum specific activity was observed in glutathione fraction and next to it in DNA fraction Significantly high radioactivity was observed in all the fractions under study at 10 minutes indicating possibility of interaction with intact arecoline. Further, pretreatment of sulfhydryl reaction reagents decreased the specific activity of protein in mice injected with 3H arecoline.

1 citations