We postulated that anesthetic preconditioning (APC) is triggered by reactive oxygen/ nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). We used the isolated guinea pig heart perfused with L-tyrosine, which reacts with ROS and RNS to form strong oxidants, principally peroxynitrite (ONOO Ϫ ), and then forms fluorescent dityrosine. ROS scavengers superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione (SCG) and NO⅐ synthesis inhibitor N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) were given 5 min before and after sevoflurane preconditioning stimuli. Drugs were washed out before 30 min of ischemia and 120 min of reperfusion. Groups were control (nontreated ischemia control), APC (two, 2-min periods of perfusion with 0.32 Ϯ 0.02 mM of sevoflurane; separated by a 6-min period of perfusion without sevoflurane), SCG, APC ϩ SCG, L-NAME, and APC ϩ L-NAME. Effluent dityrosine at 1 min reperfusion was 56 Ϯ 6 (SE) ‡, 15 Ϯ 5, 40 Ϯ 5 ‡, 39 Ϯ 4 ‡, 35 Ϯ 4 ‡, and 33 Ϯ 5 ‡ units ( ‡P Ͻ 0.05 vs. APC), respectively; left ventricular pressure (%baseline) at 60 min of reperfusion was 30 Ϯ 5 ‡, 60 Ϯ 4, 35 Ϯ 5 ‡, 37 Ϯ 5 ‡, 44 Ϯ 4, and 47 Ϯ 4; and infarct size (%total heart weight) was 50 Ϯ 5 ‡, 19 Ϯ 2, 48 Ϯ 3 ‡, 46 Ϯ 4 ‡, 42 Ϯ 4 ‡, and 45 Ϯ 2 ‡. Thus APC is initiated by ROS as shown by improved function, reduced infarct size, and reduced dityrosine on reperfusion; protective and ROS/RNS-reducing effect of APC were attenuated when bracketed by ROS scavengers or NO⅐ inhibition. guinea pig; experimental; pathophysiology; contractile function; infarct size CARDIAC ISCHEMIC PRECONDITIONING (IPC), first described in 1986 (21), is most often assessed by observations of reduced infarct size, attenuated mechanical dysfunction, or limited ultrastructural abnormality on reperfusion after prolonged ischemia (3,5,16,25,27,28,43). Anesthetics can also precondition hearts against ischemic-reperfusion (IR) injury (3,7,14,25,28). For example, Novalija and Stowe (28) reported that anesthetic preconditioning (APC) with sevoflurane mimics IPC by improving vascular, mechanical, and metabolic function in isolated hearts.The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in effecting cardiac injury on aerobic reperfusion after ischemia is now well known (11, 32). The seemingly paradoxical role of ROS and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in triggering or mediating IPC has gained increasing importance (23,33,37). Studies using inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO⅐) synthase during IR injury suggest the specific role of NO⅐ in cardioprotection is unclear (12,16,22,23,33,(42)(43)(44). However, because NO⅐ is a free radical produced constitutively and because superoxide (O 2 Ϫ ⅐) reacts faster with NO⅐ than it does with superoxide dismutase (SOD), NO⅐ is a factor that must be considered in IR injury. We showed that NO⅐ release is improved along with vascular and mechanical function after IPC and APC with sevoflurane and that these effects are blocked by ATP-sensitive K (K ATP ) channel inhibition (25,28). Peroxynitrite (ONOO Ϫ ), the product of NO⅐ and O 2 Ϫ ⅐, is released on reperfusion after ischemia (45) and ...