In experiments with isolated sheep carotid artery, d-, l- and d,l-synephrine all showed some vasoconstrictor activity: l-synephrine was the most potent, producing strong contractions at a concentration of 1:10000. d-Synephrine was about 1/2 as potent as the l-isomer, but d,l-synephrine (which would have been expected to have a potency of 1/2 that of l-synephrine even if the d-isomer were completely inactive) did not produce significant and irregular contractions until a concentration of 1:2500had been reached, implying an inhibitory interaction between the two enantiomers.