Acromelic acid is a much more potent excitant than kainic acid or domoic acid in the isolated rat spinal cord.

Excitatory actions of acromelic acid were investigated in the isolated newborn rat spinal cord. Test compounds were added to the perfusing fluid and the responses were recorded from the ventral root extracellularly. Acromelic acid caused a depolarizing response in a dose-dependent manner and the depolarizing activity of acromelic acid was superior to that of other kainoids such as kainate and domoate. The depolarization induced by acromelate was not affected by NMDA antagonists at all. Acromelic acid was proved to be one of the most potent agonists of excitatory amino acids in both vertebrates and invertebrates.