In vitro pharmacological activity of the tetrahydroisoquinoline salsolinol present in products from Theobroma cacao L. like cocoa and chocolate.

Cocoa and chocolate contain the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid salsolinol up to a concentration of 25 microg/g. Salsolinol is a dopaminergic active compound which binds to the D(2) receptor family, especially to the D(3) receptor with a K(i) of 0.48+/-0.

Inhibition of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-induced adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) secretion in pituitary corticotropic cells by substance P.

Substance P (SP) is one of the three distinct peptides of tachykinin system which possess a common spectrum of biological activities including a modulation of stress. It is assumed that the anterior pituitary is one possible target of SP in attenuation the stress response. Therefore the interaction between the hypothalamic stress hormone corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and SP was investigated in AtT20/D16v-cells, a cellular model derived from a pituitary tumor.

Plasma and urine salsolinol in humans: effect of acute ethanol intake on the enantiomeric composition of salsolinol.

The tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ) salsolinol (SAL), a condensation product of dopamine and pyruvate or acetaldehyde, is one of the neuropharmacologically active alkaloids in mammals. Previous HPLC studies have shown that the R-enantiomer of SAL is largely predominant, or is the only enantiomer in the urine of healthy subjects, whereas the S-enantiomer was found predominant in the urine of alcoholics. An enzymatic pathway for SAL formation that is influenced by chronic alcohol intake was proposed.

Effect of S(-)- and R(+)-salsolinol on the POMC gene expression and ACTH release of an anterior pituitary cell line.

Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) are thought to play an important role in the process of development of alcohol dependence. Being a condensation product between the alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde and dopamine they might be involved in the balance of the opioid system as well as the reward system. Therefore, the influence of the TIQ salsolinol (SAL) on the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene expression was investigated using the ArT-20 mouse anterior pituitary tumor cell line.

Influence of ethanol on the salsolinol excretion in healthy subjects.

This report describes the change of salsolinol (SAL) levels in the urine of healthy subjects after ethanol ingestion. A new rapid method for SAL extraction from urine sample and a GC-MS assay were used to study the urinary SAL excretion in a group of adult males (n = 14) and females (n = 13) with and without ingestion of ethanol. The results of this study show that the urinary SAL output of all subjects is significantly influenced by the intake of ethanol.