1. Salt depletion was produced in five dogs by a low salt diet and daily administration of frusemide for 5 days; a control group of five dogs was placed on the same diet, to which 2·5 g of sodium chloride was added.
2. Saralasin infusion (0·5 μg min−1 kg−1) reduced mean aortic blood pressure and total peripheral vascular resistance and increased cardiac output in salt-depleted dogs, but did not affect the heart rate and left ventricular dP/dt.
3. Saralasin infusion increased mean aortic blood pressure slightly in normal dogs; other systemic haemodynamic parameters did not change significantly.
4. Saralasin decreased hepatic arterial flow in both normal and salt-depleted dogs, but increased blood flow to left ventricle and kidneys only in salt-depleted dogs.
5. These results suggest that saralasin exerts a partial agonist effect in normal dogs to increase arterial blood pressure, but causes a depressor response during salt depletion because it reverses the vasoconstrictor effect of angiotensin II, particularly on the renal and coronary circulations.
