Antiethanol effects of indol-3-ylpyruvic acid in mice.

Indol-3-ylpyruvic acid (IPA, 10-100 mg/kg), an endogenous metabolite of tryptophan, shortened ethanol anaesthesia in C57Bl/6 male mice and diminished the post-ethanol (23 hr) inhibition of locomotion. In an elevated plus-maze, IPA had an anxiolytic effect in short-sleep, but not in long-sleep, mice. IPA did not modify ethanol-induced or caffeine-induced stimulation of spontaneous locomotion or the anxiogenic effect of pentylenetetrazole in an elevated plus-maze. The probable involvement of IPA in the defence mechanisms in alcoholism is suggested.