The presence of a »Somatotrophin-Releasing Factor« (SRF) in acetic-acid extracts obtained from dog hypothalami was demonstrated by three kinds of assays: an »in vitro« test derived from that of Saffran & Schally (1955 b) for the measurement of CRF; a modification of the tibia test, performed on intact immature female rats; and measurement of the weight gain of immature female rats during prolonged treatment. The extracts were active only on intact animals, and not directly on hypophysectomized ones. The activity was not observed in other parts of the brain than the hypothalamus region. Crude post-pituitary extracts were contaminated with SRF, although the synthetic neuro-hormones were not »somatotrophin-releasing« substances. SRF is therefore different from vasopressin.

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Ointments containing griseofulvin and proquazone, respectively, were made up of monoglycerides of medium chain length and an aprotic solvent, glycerinformal. The ointments were applied topically on the back of bile cannulated rats. The total amount absorbed percutaneously and the permeability constants of both drugs were considerably higher for the ointments than for simple solutions of the drugs without monoglycerides. Distribution of the labeled drugs in rat skin has been demonstrated by microautoradiography. Concentrations of the drugs in the different layers of human skin together with the medium flow rates have been determined 16 h after administration of the ointments onto isolated human skin. Monoglycerides of medium chain length enhance significantly the permeability of the stratum corneum for solutes.

The incomplete intestinal absorption of hydrogenated ergot peptide alkaloids as measured in bile duct cannulated rats is much increased when the ergot compounds are administered as micellar solutions together with POE‐24‐cholesteryl ether. In vitro diffusion experiments with isolated intestinal mucus show that the ergot peptide alkaloids are strongly retained by the mucus layer. It is suggested that the diffusion of the ergot compounds across the mucus barrier is facilitated by micellar entrapment of the drug.

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