Secreted oleanolic acid on the cuticleOlea europaea (Oleaceae); a chemical barrier to fungal attack

Summary The leaf of the bitter oliveOlea europaea (Oleaceae) is heavily coated by almost pure oleanolic acid, which forms part of a multichemical defense against fungal attack.We thank Mr K. A. Hoelmer for taking the electron micrographs and also Professor T. Kamikawa for NMR measurements.     

Increased susceptibility ofTrypanosoma lewisi infected,or decomplemented rats toSalmonella typhimurium

Summary Rats infected withTrypanosoma lewisi or decomplemented by injection of cobra venom factor or complement activating factor of trypanosomes were found to be more susceptible to infection withSalmonella typhimurium. Decomplemented rats subsequently infected withT. lewisi developed higher blood parasitemia than did normalT. lewisi infected rats.This project is supported by the National Research Council of Canada grant A 0068 and a grant from the International Development Research Center.     

An assessment of the effect of hormone and neurotransmitters on adenine and gluanine derivatives simultaneously in rat brain cortical slices

Summary A 2-dimensional thin-layer method has been developed for the separation on cellulose of adenine and guanine derivatives. Using incubated rat cerebral cortex slices it was shown that noradrenaline and acetylcholine stirnulated cAMP and cGMP production respectively but glutamate and -aminobutyric acid stimulated production of both cyclic nucleotides.     

Opposite effects ofβ-adrenoceptor stimulation and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP on potassium efflux in mammalian heart muscle

Summary -adrenoceptor stimulation by isoprenaline increases the potassium efflux in beating guinea-pig atria. This effect is not mimicked by 8-bromo-cyclic AMP, a cyclic AMP analogue which exerts a positive inotropic effect in this preparation.     

Failure of somatostatin to influence experimental tumor cell growth in vivo and in vitro

Summary The influence of somatostatin on tumor cell growth was studied in vivo in mice (sarcoma 180 ascites tumor and Lewis lung tumor) and in vitro on nontransformed and polyoma-transformed cell lines. 4 or 20 g/100 g of cyclic somatostatin and 4 g/100 g of linear protamin Zn-bound somatostatin were injected s.c. twice daily in the in vivo study. Cyclic somatostatin (1, 4 or 10 g/ml) was added twice daily to the cell cultures. Somatostatin administration influenced neither the survival of animals nor the growth rate of cultured cell lines. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A2025117 00011     

Concurrent occurrence of elevated ketone body and depressed carnitine level in underfed guinea-pigs

Summary Food ingestion of male guinea-pigs was restricted to 10 g/day. Total carnitine content of liver of the underfed animals fell to 3.75 moles per liver (46.1% of control). Serum level of total carnitine was 35.0 nmoles/ml (64.4%) in the underfed animals while they developed high ketonemia, 384.2 nmoles/ml (555.2%). In restricted animals the carnitine levels also decreased in the muscles.     

Some properties of the goat placental lactogen

Summary Goat placental lactogen was partially purified from a medium collected after placental tissue incubation. The data obtained by disc electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing experiments, as well as by means of radioreceptor assay methods, provide evidence of the similarity between the goat and ovine placental lactogen.The careful technical assistance of L. Tichovská is gratefuly acknowledged.     

The free radical oxidation of the tetrahydrocannabinols

Summary The free radical oxidation of ¹ and ⁶-tetrahydrocannabinol has been examined by spin trapping techniques and intermediates that would lead to cannabinol have been trapped. The 1st step in the oxidation of ¹-THC involves the removal of 3-H, while for ⁶-THC, either 2-H or 5-H. Intermediates were isolated which could be pyrolysed to the diene and cannabinol.