Effect of spironolactone and norbolethone on the toxicity of digitalis compounds in the rat.

1. In the rat, both spironolactone (an antimineralocorticoid) and norbolethone (an anabolic steroid) inhibit the characteristic neuromuscular disturbances and the mortality produced by digitoxin, gitalin, proscillaridin, digoxin and digitalin. The corresponding effects of strophanthin K, ouabain and digitoxigenin could not be prevented.2. It may be concluded that, in our experimental conditions, both spironolactone and norbolethone counteract the toxicity of some, but not all, digitalis compounds tested and that both the protective steroids affect the toxicity of the same digitalis derivatives.3. This antidigitalis effect is not merely a secondary consequence of either antimineralocorticoid or anabolic potency because spironolactone lacks anabolic and norbolethone lacks antimineralocorticoid properties. Indeed, it appears that the ability to antagonize the toxicity of digitalis compounds represents a pharmacological property independent of all known steroid hormone actions, since spironolactone is virtually devoid of these.