Abstract
Norepinephrine-induced arteriole constriction was found to be inhibited by water extracts of prawn, salmon, flatfish, beef, pork, scallop, sea urchin and other species. On the other hand, water extracts of tomato, spinach, Japanese pepper, and sesame stimulated norepinephrine-induced arteriole constriction. Therefore, experiments were designed to identify the active principle in the extract of prawn. It was found that one of the active principles was AMP. It was postulated that AMP was absorbed by the intestine after converting it to adenosine. Adenosine was also found to inhibit norepinephrineinduced arteriole constriction. Based on these results, the physiological significance of biologically active substances in food was discussed.
