INVIVO AND INVITRO STUDIES ON EFFECT OF TETRAHYDROPAPAVEROLINE AND SALSOLINOL ON COMT AND MAO ACTIVITY IN RAT-BRAIN

Certain characteristics of the schizophrenic syndrome, particularly hallucination and delirium, are paralleled by the psychiatric symptoms of alcoholic psychoses. Studies were made on COMT [catechol-O-methyltransferase] and MAO [monoamine oxidase] activity in rats 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 h after i.p. treatment with 8 and 60 mg/kg doses of tetrahydropapaveroline (THP), and 10 and 20 days after treatment with 8 mg/kg per day. COMT activity inhibition was observed only after 2 h of treatment. Experiments were also performed on THP and salsolinol methylation capacity in vitro. Both alkaloids use COMT enzymes for methylation and can also act as competitive inhibitors of COMT and MAO activity.