Neuromuscular blocking activity in an extract from the East African wild sisal Sansevieria ehrenbergii.

S. ehrenbergii and A. sisalana extracts (equivalent to 50-250 mg leaf/ml) cause potentiation (ca. 40%) of indirectly elicited contractions of the chick biventer nerve-muscle preparation. The subsequent blockade to direct and indirect stimulation and the sustained but reversible change in baseline tension resemble actions of the depolarizing suxamethonium rather than the nondepolarizing gallamine.