[Emetic and catalepsy-inducing actions of buflomedil]

The emetic and catalepsy-inducing actions of buflomedil were studied in dog and mice. Oral administration of buflomedil (10-30 mg/kg) dose-dependently induced vomiting in dogs. On the other hand, the buflomedil-induced vomiting was inhibited by the pretreatment with domperidone (1 mg/kg, p.o.). A high dose of buflomedil (120-360 mg/kg, p.o.) induced catalepsy in mice, while a low dose of this agent (30-120 mg/kg, p.o.) had no enhancing effect on haloperidol-induced catalepsy. It was also found that the buflomedil-induced catalepsy was inhibited by the pretreatments with L-DOPA (300 mg/kg, i.p.) and bromocriptine (5 mg/kg, i.p.), respectively. These results suggest that buflomedil may induce emetic action as a dopamine agonist at a low dose, whereas it acts as a dopamine antagonist and a catalepsy inducer at a high concentration.