A study of the effect of benzylpenicillin on isolated human gallbladder

The contractile effect of benzylpenicillin on isolated rings of human gallb ladder was studied using preparations taken from surgical specimens after g allbladderectomy. The gallbladder was cut into two pieces and one ring was studied using preparations taken from surgical specimens containing Krebs s olution and the isotonic changes of the preparation were recorded for each experiment. Benzylpenicillin (1 x 10(4) to 1 x 10(8) IU/l) was shown to exe rt a dose-dependent contractile effect on isolated human gallbladder rings which was blocked by atropine (1 x 10(-8) M). The benzylpenicillin-induced on isolated human gallbladder may reflect a possible decrease in gallbladde r emptying time in vivo, suggesting a beneficial effect of benzylpenicillan in antimicrobial treatment of gallbladder infections. (C) 1999 Prous Scien ce. All rights reserved.