Influence of various substances on prostaglandin biosynthesis by guinea-pig chopped lung.

Guinea-pig chopped lung tissue was used to investigate the inhibitory effect of various steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, antipyretics, analgesics, local anaesthetics and psychotropic drugs on mechanically induced release of prostaglandin-like material. Low concentrations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents inhibited synthesis, but other antipyretics and analgesics, and the local anaesthetics had little effect. Thymoleptics, neuroleptics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors except phenelzine exhibited weak activity. It is concluded that the method is a useful pharmacological model to study prostaglandin biosynthesis. The weak effects of the psychotropic drugs suggest that they do not exert their clinical effect by inhibiting PG biosynthesis.