Effects of glaucine and some glaucine derivatives and of their combination with L-DOPA on the brain level of biogenic monoamines.

Glaucine and two of its structural analogues exerted an inhibitory effect on phosphodiesterase activity in different tissue homogenates. In experiments on rats glaucine applied intraperitoneally significantly increased the brain level of dopamine (DA) and did not change the content of noradrenaline and serotonin (5-HT). The combined application of L-DOPA and glaucine or glaucine derivatives produced a higher increase in brain DA than the increase which would be expected by simple summation of the effects of L-DOPA and glaucine and of the glaucine derivatives respectively. At the same time L-DOPA and glaucine, applied together, caused a slighter decrease of brain 5-HT than the decrease produced by the same dose of L-DOPA when the latter was applied alone. It is suggested that the higher increase of brain DA produced by the combination of L-DOPA and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor glaucine or its structural analogues is mainly due to the increased cAMP level.