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Science 28 March 1980:
Vol. 207. no. 4438, pp. 1489 - 1490
DOI: 10.1126/science.6244619
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Articles

Science, Vol 207, Issue 4438, 1489-1490
Copyright © 1980 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Neurotransmitter release from a vertebrate neuromuscular synapse affected by a food dye

GJ Augustine Jr and H Levitan

The food dye erythrosine (Erythrosin B; FD & C No. 3) was applied to isolated neuromuscular synapses in the frog, and its effects on the spontaneous quantal release of acetylcholine were examined with electrophysiological techniques. At concentrations of 10 muM or greater this anionic dye produced an irreversible, dose-dependent increase in neurotransmitter release. This increase did not depend on the presence of calcium ions in the bathing medium. These increase did not depend on the presence of calcium ions in the bathing medium. These results suggest that erythrosine might prove a useful pharmacological tool for studying the process of transmitter release, but that its use as a food additive should be reexamined.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Feingold Diet: A Current Reappraisal.
J. A. Mattes (1983)
J Learn Disabil 16, 319-323
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Effects of Artificial Food Colorings in Children With Hyperactive Symptoms: A Critical Review and Results of a Controlled Study.
J. A. Mattes and R. Gittelman (1981)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 38, 714-718
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Nutrition and Learning.
R. C. Wunderlich Jr. (1981)
Intervention in School and Clinic 16, 303-307
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