Anticholinesterase activity of tranylcypromine and its isomers.

Abstract

The anticholinesterase (antiChE) activity of ranylcypromine (TRCY) and its isomers was studied by employing dog plasma as a cholinesterase source. Changes in arterial blood pressure, elicited by a mixture of acetylcholine (Ach) and dog plasma with or without those drugs, as an indicator of their anti ChE activity were monitored. When TRCY or one of its isomers was present in concentrations higher than 125 microM in plasma containing Ach, the hypotensive effect of the latter was preserved. Such findings provide experimental evidence that TRCY and its isomers may exert antiChE activity.