Furazolidone-pethidine interaction in rabbits.

1 The intravenous injection of pethidine in rabbits pretreated with furazolidone administered orally but not systemically resulted in severe interaction and fatal hyperpyrexia. 2 Treatment with rho-chlorophenylalanine, chloropromazine of cyproheptadine protected the rabbits against the furazolidone-pethidine interaction, while alpha-methyl-rho-tyrosine was ineffective. 3 5-Hydroxytryptophan produced a fatal hyperpyrexia in furazolidone pretreated rabbits. 4 Pretreatment of rabbits with 1,1,1-trichloro-2, 2-bis(rho-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) accelerated and enhanced the furazolidone-pethidine interaction, while oxytetracycline pretreatment completely prevented the interaction. 5 It is concluded that furazolidone-pethidine interaction might depend mainly on potentiation of the effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the CNS and that the transformation of furazolidone into an active monoamine oxidase inhibitor metabolite might occur mainly in the gut microflora in the gut lumen.