Effect of histamine on oxygen consumption in guinea pig taenia coli.

In 1953, Bülbring noted that the smooth muscle of teania coli from guinea pig showed an increase in oxygen consumption associated with tension development when stimulated by a drug such as acetylcholine, histamine or eserine (1). Recently Urakawa and his co workers found that high concentration of potassium in Tyrode solution induced an in crease in oxygen consumption accompanied by a rise of muscle tension (2), and they con sidered that Ca ions which entered the muscle cells through the membrane depolarized by high K might play an essential role in increasing oxygen consumption independently of an increase in muscle tension (3). The present experiments were undertaken to investigate effects of histamine and its antagonist on oxygen consumption, muscle tension and electrical activity in taenia coli, and the relationship between the resulting increase in oxygen consumption and Ca move ment was discussed.