Cardiotonic Activity of Some Adrenal Steroids

¹ From the Department of Pharmacology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut

The inotropic activity of Compounds A acetate, B, E, F, S and DCA was determined upon hypodynamic papillary muscles (cat) (bathed in Krebs-Hensleit solution, ph 7–7.2, with the calcium content reduced to 1.0 mEq./l., and driven by a square wave stimulator at a rate of 1/sec., threshold voltage, duration 3 msec.). The effects obtained were contrasted with the cardiotonic activity determined in the same manner for serum, serum albumen and a dialysate of albumen. It is concluded, that while low concentrations of compound B (10–25 µg %), compound F (10–500 µg %), compounds E and S (10 µg %) did exert a positive inotropic action, and while higher concentrations of these and all concentrations of DCA and compound A were depressant to the papillary muscle, these steroids did not account for the positive inotropic activity obtained with 10% serum, 1% serum albumen or the dialysate of 1% albumen (greatest activity with this last).