Histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells induced by antigen and anti-IgE was essentially complete within 2 min and 3 min, respectively, but that due to Concanavalin A (Con A) was complete only within 9 min. An anti-allergic agent NCO-650 [trans-4-Guanidinomethylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid p-tert-butylphenyl ester hydrochloride], which is a strong inhibitor of trypsin, dose-dependently inhibited anti-IgE-induced histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells. Moreover, the rate and extent of histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells induced by various histamine liberators such as antigen, concanavalin A, ionophore A 23187 and compound 48/80 are significantly diminished in samples incubated with NCO-650. The IC50 values of NCO-650 on histamine release induced by antigen, anti-IgE, Concanavalin A, A23187 and compound 48/80 were in the order of micromolar range, i.e. 1.9, 3.6, 4.6, 2.9 and 6.1 microM, respectively. On a molecular basis, NCO-650 is 1000-fold more potent than DSCG, an anti-allergic drug, in inhibiting the antigen-induced histamine release. The present results suggest that the effect of NCO-650 might be due to the inhibition of a common process underlying the release of histamine by various histamine liberators.