Galvinoxyl is a long-lived free radical and a highly efficient scavenger of shorter-lived free radicals. In vitro studies demonstrated that galvinoxyl has an inhibitory effect on tumor cells of sarcoma 180 and ascitic form of hepatoma. The higher the concentration of galvinoxyl, the more remarkable its inhibiting effect. Growth of the hepatoma cells in vivo was also inhibited when they had been treated in vitro with galvinoxyl. Galvinoxyl showed an inhibition rate of 43.1%.

6 days after implantation of tumor cells into mice an intralesional injection of galvinoxyl was given and the same was repeated 4 days later. It was found that galvinoxyl showed an inhibition rate of 51.3% on subcutaneously implanted sarcoma 180.

We measured the blood pressure and the concentration of sodium and potassium in erythrocytes and plasma in 270 normal children and adolescents from 1 to 17 years of age and found that (1) in childhood and adolescence the blood pressure, the sodium and potassium concentration in erythrocytes and the sodium concentration in plasma tended to increase with age, whereas the plasma potassium concentration decreased with age; (2) there was no noticeable sex difference in the sodium and potassium concentration in erythrocytes or in plasma; (3) the mean values of sodium and potassium concentration in erythrocytes and those in plasma were 7.29 mEq/L and 90.30 mEq/L, and 131.95 mEq/L and 4.48 mEq/L respectively; and (4) there was a low grade correlation between the concentration of sodium and potassium in erythrocytes and plasma and the systolic and diastolic pressure.

Clinical experience has demonstrated that rhomotoxin, isolated from the fruits of Rhododendron molle G. Don, has antihypertensive and antiarrhythmic effects. In the present work, its direct actions on cat papillary muscle were as follows:

It is suggested that the above effects of rhomotoxin might be due to the change in resting potential of the myocardial cell as a result of altered transmembrane sodium movement.