Abstract
Effect of buflomedil [4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-(2, 4, 6-trimethoxyphenyl)-1-butanone hydrochloride] administration on central monoaminergic systems was investigated using male Wistar rats. Single administration of buflomedil (300 mg/kg, p.o.) induced a significant increase in the content of homovanillic acid without altering the content of dopamine (DA) and also caused a significant decrease in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the corpus striatum. In addition, both L-glutamic acid decarboxylase activity (GAD) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content showed a significant decrease in the substantia nigra following a single administration of buflomedil. These results indicate that buflomedil enhances DA turnover in the nigro-striatal DA pathway, possibly by activating nigro-striatal DA neurons, or by suppressing striatal cholinergic interneurons and/or striatonigral GABAergic neurons.