Zea mays Linne, which belongs to Graminae family, has been ordinarily used as edibles and fodder. Its stigma, Maydis Stigma, has been discarded without any special application with the exception of being used as diuretic in the sphere of Chinese medicine. Moreover, the pharmacological research toward Maydis Stigma as a medicinal herb has not been regretfully undertaken at all. The authors hereby paid attention to this point of view and made experiment to find out whether the water extract of Maydis Stigma might possess some pharmacological effect on the blood pressure of the rats or not. $LD_{50}$ to the mice was determined and the experiment was performed making the use of several agents related to the blood pressure such as atropine, Avil, dichloroisoproterenol and hexamethonium. The blood pressure of the rats and rabbits was recorded with the equipment of polygraph (Grass model 7 DAB) and its accessory, Statham pressure transducer. The results of the experiment are as follows. 1. $LD_{50}$ to the mice weighing 20g is determined 1,125 mg/kg. 2. The blood pressure manifests the gradual decrease by the rate of $-15.50{\pm}3.32,\;-22.14{\pm}8.73$ and $-46.25{\pm}5.17\;mmHg$ in proportion to ZW 25, 50 and 150mg/kg administered to the rats. 3. The blood pressure also manifests the same gradual decrease in proportion to ZW administered to the rabbits. 4. It is of significant difference to manifest the increase of $+5.14{\pm}4.65\;mmHg$ in the rats pretreated with atropine as compared with $-22.14{\pm}8.73\;mmHg$ of control group when administered each ZW 50mg/kg. 5. The administration of ZW 50 mg/kg to the rats pretreated with Avil, dichloroisoproterenol and hexamethonium does not manifest the significant difference in comparison with the control group.

The present study is concerned with the demonstration of the influence of long term treatment with caffeine and phenobarbital on pentobarbital sleeping time, gastric secretion, increase rate of body weight and brain and liver weight in rats. The experimental subjects were rats weighing about 140 to 150 g, each of them was isolated in a separate cage. Each group was given 1 ml normal saline solution as control, caffeine 10 mg/kg and phenobarbital 30 mg/kg as experimental groups. All drugs were injected intraperitoneally, daily for 4 weeks. The results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. There was significant difference between before and after injection of drugs (caffeine citrate 10 mg/kg and phenobarbital 30 mg/kg) on pentobarbital sleeping time. The sleeping time of caffeine treated group was delayed (22.4%, p<0.01) significantly compared with that of before injection. The sleeping time of phenobarbital treated group was markedly shortened (93.6%, p<0.001) compared with that of before injection of drugs. 2. The volume, free and total acidity and pH of gastric juice determined five hours after pyloric ligation in fasting rats were not significantly changed in experimental groups compared with control group. However the volume of gastric juice was increased 25% in both caffeine and phenobardital treated group. 3. The increased ratio of body weight revealed no remarkable difference compared with intial body weight. However, caffeine treated group showed markedly increased body weight after first and second week of injection. 4. The brain and liver weight in experimental group showed no significant difference compared with control group (as percentage of body weight).

Previous studies on the effect of the visible lights on the organism have shown the possible influences on the nervous system. It was reported that the illumination of blue beam increased the sympathetic tone and that of red beam increased the parasympathetic tone. The pharmacological actions of the sympathomimetics were also known to be altered by various visible lights. But their modes and mechanisms of actions on the nervous system have not been clarified and is obscure. To elucidate the precise mechanism of action of the visible lights on the nervous system, present study was made to observe the survival time of the mole living in the dark environment, under the illumination of the various visible lights and influences of several drugs. The results are summerized as follows: 1. The illumination of the natural sun light caused the survival time of the mole to be shortened and visible monochromatic beams (red, blue and green) even more markedly shortened the survival time. No significant difference was noted depending on the wave length of the chromatic beam. 2. The shortened survival time caused by the visible monochromatic lights was prolonged by strychnine but not affected by morphine. 3. The survival time under the illumination of the visible monochromatic lights was prolonged by acetylcholine and physostigmine. 4. The shortened survival time under the illumination of the monochromatic visible lights was not affected by adrenaline but prolonged by priscoline. It is suggested that the shortened survival time of the mole by the illumination of the visible lights can be prolonged by the stimulation of central and parasympathetic nervous system and blocking of the sympathetic nervous system.

Fluorides were supposed to exert a stimulatory action on the catecholamine release. In this study, the authors attempted to investigate the action of sodium fluoride on the catecholamine release from the isolated perfused cow adrenal gland and rat heart. And also the inhibitory effect of sodium fluoride on the monoamine oxidase activity in rat heart and liver mitochondria was investigated. The monoamine oxidase activity was measured by the conversion of benzylamine to benzaldehyde. The results obtained were follows; 1. Sodium fluoride stimulated the release of catecholamine from the isolated perfused cow adrenal gland and rat heart. 2. Sodium fluoride inhibited the rat heart and liver mitochondrial monoamine oxidase activity.

The component and pharmacologic action on Dianthus sinensis L. were investigated as follows: 1) The components of Dianthus sinensis L. were suggested 8 kind of components by means of thin layer chromatography and paper chromatography. The one of them were suggested as a steroidal saponin by means of IR-spectrum and Liebermann-Burchard, Salkowiski, $SbCl_3$ reaction. 2) Sodium level in serum were reduced by administration of the sample to the rabbits, while in urine were elevated. 3) Blood sugar level of normal rabbits administered with sample, no significant variation were detected. 4) When the hyperglycemic rabbits treated with alloxan were administered sample, blood-sugar level were significantly decreased than control group.

Superprecipitation of actomyosin has been considered to be an in vitro model of the muscle contraction. The superprecipitation and ATPase activity (which supplies the energy for contraction) are influenced by several factors which are the large amount of changes in ionic strength, Mg and ATP concentrations. But those behaviors are found to be promptly influenced by the change in a small range of calcium concentration which can be controlled by the cellular function of muscle physiologically only in the presence of the modullatory proteins, tropomyosin and troponin. In order to elucidate the precise roles of calcium in the muscle contraction and relaxation, the effects of calcium on the actin- myosin interaction was observed in the presence of tropomyosin and troponin using the superprecipitation system. The results are summarized as follows: 1. EGTA (glycol ether diaminetetraacetic acid)prolonged the initiation of the superprecipitation of natural actomyosin. 2. Superprecipitation curve was declined by adding EGTA at the time when tile curve reached the half- maximum. The degree of declining was proportional to the amount of EGTA added. Especially, upon adding 0.25 mM EGTA the curve was lowered to the level before the protein superprecipitated. But addition of EGTA did not affect the curve after attaining the maximum. 3. Superprecipitation of Perry myosin B was not affected by EGTA added both before and during the course of the reaction. 4. Tropomyosin did not change the response of Perry myosin B to EGTA added at any time of the reaction. 5. Troponin also did not change the response of Perry myosin B to EGTA. 6. Both tropomyosin and troponin together rendered the Perry myosin B to obtain the same response as natural actomyosin to EGTA. 7. It was concluded that actin-myosin interaction was influenced by the minute change of calcium concentration only in the presence of both tropomyosin and troponin. We could reproduce the contraction and relaxation of the muscle in vitro under the presence of ATP by changing the calcium concentration.

The effects of omission of buffers from Krebs-Ringer medium on contractile activity, membrane potentials and ATP content of electrically stimulated isolated rat atria were investigated. 1) Contractile status: A rapid and marked depression of the contractile activity of atria occurred when buffer-free medium was substituted for the normal Krebs-Ringer medium. 2) Electrical status: The omission of buffers from medium did not alter the resting or action potential magnitudes of atria. However, the action potential duration was on initial increase followed by a decrease in the buffer-free medium. 3) ATP concentration: The omission of buffers from medium resulted in a marked decrease in the ATP levels of atria. It has been also found in the present study that bicarbonate buffer plays an important role for the maintenance of the contractility and ATP levels of the heart. The contractile depression by the omission of buffers was not directly associated with electrical alterations in resting or action potentials of the heart. In the absence of bicarbonate-buffer, glucose no longer plays to maintain the contractile activity and the ATP levels of rat atria.