Abstract
Besides possessing anaesthetic properties, ethylene is remarkable for its hormonal actions in plants at concentrations as low as MAC×10−6. We have tested the hypothesis that its anaesthetic and hormonal properties might be linked, by comparing its effects with those of halothane on Vicia faba and other plants. Ethylene and halothane are shown to have similar properties at or near clinical anaesthetic concentrations: i.e. reduction of mitotic index and production of colchicine-type metaphases (c-mitosis). This combination indicates depression of some part of the cell cycle in addition to the disruption of meta-phase. which alone would initially cause a rise in mitotic index. At hormonal levels ethylene did not inhibit the progression of cells through mitosis. Halothane could not be shown to possess any hormonal activity in plants, and manifestations of physical toxicity were not demonstrated at a concentration of MAC× 10−2.2. The phenomenon of the hormonal activity of ethylene appears not to be closely related to its anaesthetic properties at higher concentrations.
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