The influence of chenopodium on the circulation and respiration

The intravenous injection of one to two per cent. emulsions indicates that the oil of chenopodium is a circulatory, as well as a respiratory depressant. Blood pressure fell after a dose of 0.02 c.c. per kilo was introduced into rabbits, cats and dogs, but the absolute, as well as the relative effect, varied in different individuals. While large doses produced a greater fall of blood pressure this was not always in proportion to the size of the dose. The volume of the kidney followed closely the blood pressure, thus indicating that the effect on the latter is of cardiac origin. That chenopodium is a cardiac depressant was also shown in experiments on the isolated frog heart. A solution of 1 : 2,000, of chenopodium, or its active principle, ascaridole, perfused for one to two minutes, caused a marked decrease of force, as well as frequency of cardiac action which was not always observed, however, when the perfusion time was reduced to half a minute only. It was frequently absent after the initial perfusion and sometimes when this was repeated once or twice after suitable intervals, but depression of the heart was usually produced when a sufficient number of perfusions were made in each case. Cardiac irritability after vagus stimulation which was tested in dogs was found to be decreased after chenopodium.

The action of chenopodium on respiration varied in different animals, being less effective in rabbits than in cats or dogs. Small doses, about 0.02 C.C. per kilo may produce respiratory depression in all animals. In some experiments the effect was observed after the initial dose, in others, however, only after the two or more doses were given. Larger doses, 0.04 to 0.08 C.C. per kilo, produced apnea in cats and dogs for a variable period, which was followed by very slow respiration.