Regulation of corticosteroid secretion by somatostatin in albino rat

The present investigation reports the effect of somatostatin on the regulation of serum cortisol profile in albino rat. Administration of inhibitors, dexamethasone @2.5mg/kg body weight and captopril @ 8.3mg/kg body weight for seven consecutive days resulted in a sharp fall in the serum cortisol level from a value of 7.11 +/- 0.43 mu g/dl to 4.49 +/- 0.25 Treatment with somatostatin along with the inhibitors again triggerd a fall in the cortisol level from 4.49 +/- 0.25 mu g/dl to 3.30 +/- 0.23 mu g/dl. Administration of somatostatin in intact albino rat shifted the value to 5.30 +/- 0.14 mu g/dl from 7.11 +/- 0.43 mu g/dl. The data were subjected to paired sample t-test and were found to be significant at 95% conf. level. Results of the present investigation clearly indicate an inhibitory role of somatostatin in the regulation of cortisol secretion. The mode of action has been discussed in detail.