117 



could have been the consequence of the decreased temperature. 

 This does not invalidate our conclusions; in this case we have only 

 to suppose that the drug exerted its action on the regulatory mecha- 

 nisms responsible for the maintenance of the body temperature. 



The chlorpromazine molecule has rare qualities, as far as its 

 own excitational states, its own £*'s are concerned. If frozen, a 



Table III 



Effect of Varying Amounts of Thorazine (Chlorpromazine) on 



THE Basal Metabolic Rate and Body Temperature of 



Swiss Albino Mice 



% Decrease 



Thorazine Milli- Over-all M in BMR Body temper- Time needed 



injected grams concentration three hours ature 4 hours for complete 



(mg) per kg in the animal after injection after injection recovery 



10'^ M solution shows a strong yellow afterglow, a long-life phos- 

 phorescence which lasts for about a second. In the phosphoroscope 

 this phosphorescence can be observed even in 0.00003 M, thus in 

 the whole range in which the drug exerts a strong pharmacological 

 action (Column 3 in Table III). The atmospheric O2 does not 

 abolish this phosphorescence — it only diminishes it. This is evi- 

 dently the reaction of the phenothiazine ring because pyrrolazote 

 shows it too, though its phosphorescence is more sensitive to O2 

 than that of chlorpromazine. Excitations which are very sensitive 

 to O2, could have no biological function. Such a long life phos- 

 phorescence is a rare quality. 



Chlorpromazine is capable also of influencing the E* of other 



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