Five undeca- and six C-terminal heptapeptide substance P (SP) analogues were tested for their capacity to block the contractile effect of SP on the guinea-pig isolated taenia coli. They had one feature in common, namely substitutions in positions 7 and 9 in the SP molecule. In the majority of analogues D-tryptophan was used for these substitutions. All analogues tested were found to be competitive antagonists to exogenous SP and to be capable of blocking the electrically induced non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic neuronal contraction of the taenia. Of the undecapeptides, (D-Arg1, D-Pro2, D-Trp7,9, Leu11) SP and (D-Arg1, D-Trp7,9, Leu11) SP (Spantide) had the highest pA2 value, 7.1-7.2, and the lowest IC50 value, 10(-6) M. The pA2 values of the heptapeptides were generally lower. Three of the most potent antagonists were tested for specificity and found to block the smooth muscle contraction induced by SP, physalaemin, eledoisin and bombesin but not that induced by bradykinin, carbachol, 5-hydroxytryptamine, histamine, prostaglandins and vasopressin. The SP antagonists were also tested for spasmogenic effect on the taenia and for their capacity to release histamine from rat isolated peritoneal mast cells. The spasmogenic activity displayed by most of the SP antagonists tested is likely to be related to their ability to release histamine since the contractile response was reduced by mepyramine, a histamine H1-receptor antagonist. (D-Arg1, D-Trp7,9, Leu11) SP was notable for combining a high antagonistic potency with a weak spasmogenic effect (and poor histamine releasing effect).