Reduction in blood pressure in normal and spontaneously hypertensive rats by lergotrile mesylate

The acute administration of lergotrile mesylate to normal or spontaneously-hypertensive rats (SHR) causes a prompt reduction in blood pressure. In SHR, doses as small as 0.05 mg kg-1 are effective; maximal reductions in blood pressure are obtained at a dose of 0.25 mg kg-1. Lergotrile may be administered intraperitoneally or orally. Its efficacy as an antihypertensive agent in rats does not diminish significantly when administered twice daily for 7 days. Although lergotrile has been reported to be a dopamine agonist, the present data do not establish the mechanism by which the drug lowers blood pressure.