EFFECTS OF EUGENOL ON EXCITATION-CONTRACTION COUPLING IN SKELETAL-MUSCLE

The effects of eugenol on the excitation-contraction coupling of the t oad (Bufo paracnemis) sartorius were studied. Eugenol (0.1-2.5 mM) blo cked the contracture induced by 80 mM K+. At 2.5 mM, it decreased the depolarization, induced by 80 mM K+, by 14 mV. This is not sufficient to explain the complete blockade of the potassium contracture. At high er concentrations (3-12 mM), eugenol induced contractures, without cau sing a depolarization of the membrane. Contractures were blocked by pr ocaine and potentiated by caffeine and by cooling of the muscle. For c oncentrations of eugenol in the upper range of the dose-response curve (10 mM), the contracture was independent of the Ca++ concentration in the medium. At lower concentrations (5 mM), the contractures induced by eugenol were potentiated by divalent cations, in the order: Mg++<Ba ++<Zn++<Co++<Ca++<Mn''. We infer that the eugenol-induced contractures are caused, primarily, by a release of Ca++ from the sarcoplasmic ret iculum and, secondarily, by a mechanism related to the presence of som e divalent cations in the extracellular space.