In experiments on isolated rat heart perfused by the Langendorff method, the effect of halothane, isoflurane, enflurane, and diethyl ether on myocardial oxidation-reduction status was evaluated with reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) fluorometry. All inhaled anesthetics studied caused a dose-dependent increase in NADH fluorescence. Concentrations of anesthetics necessary to produce 10% of the maximal increase in NADH fluorescence caused by anoxia were 1.1% for halothane, 1.6% for isoflurane, 2.6% for enflurane, and 6.8% for diethyl ether (all concentrations are different from each other at P less than 0.05 level, n = 24). These findings indicate that the order of potency with regard to the effect of the agent on NADH paralleled their potencies as general anesthetics. The deterioration in myocardial oxidation-reduction status probably is related to the ability of the anesthetic agents to inhibit the electron transport chain in mitochondria.
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Kissin et al. (1983) studied this question.