Antagonism of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin by quinacrine in rats

Escherichia coli strain W 165-1/82 which produce heat-labile toxin (LT) was used in preparation of enterotoxin. Ligated intestinal rat model using wistar rats were used to obtain the maximum secretory response after challenging with the toxin. It was found that quinacrine inhibited the secretory response and also reduced the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level in the intestinal fluids. The maximum secretory response was obtained with 125 ug of crude LT toxin in 61-80 grams of rats. It was also noted that 500 ug of quinacrine produced a maximum inhibition in rats.