Objective To investigate the effects of various concentrations of sevoflurane and propofol and a combination of the two agents on chloride current induced by bath utilization of 3×10 -6 mol/L γ aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rat dorsal root ganglia neurons maintained in primary culture Methods Sensory neurons from rat dorsal root ganglia were dissociated and cultured The whole cell patch clamp technique was used to record chloride current All drugs were applied with a rapid perfusion system, named “Y tube“ method Results The peak chloride current amplitude was induced by 3×10 -6 mol/L GABA with substantially increasing of both sevoflurane and propofol Additionally, desensitization of I GABA induced by either propofol or sevoflurane was not observed We examined actions of various concentrations of propofol (3×10 -7 , 1×10 -6 , 3×10 -6 mol/L), sevoflurane (7×10 -4 mol/L) and their combination at concentrations relevant to clinical anesthesia on I GABA propofol(3×10 -7 , 1×10 -6 , 3×10 -6 mol/L) produced a concentration dependent increase in the response to 3×10 -6 mol/L GABA on I GABA When combined with 7×10 -4 mol/L sevoflurane, the potentiation of response to GABA obtained with various concentrations of propofol was not different from a theoretical additive response ( P >0 05) Conclusions Either sevoflurane or propofol and their combination at clinically relevant concentrations potentiate the GABA induced chloride current, which may at least partially contribute to the anesthetic mechanism Additive interaction obtained with a co application of propofol and sevoflurane may provide an evidence for a clinical combination of these two anesthetic agents Objective To investigate the effects of various concentrations of sevoflurane and propofol and a combination of the two agents on chloride current induced by bath utilization of 3 × 10 -6 mol / L γ aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rat dorsal root ganglia neurons maintained in primary culture Methods Sensory neurons from rat dorsal root ganglia were dissociated and cultured The whole cell patch clamp technique was used to record chloride current All drugs were applied with a rapid perfusion system, named ”Y tube " method Results The peak chloride current amplitude was induced by 3 × 10 -6 mol / L GABA with substantial increase of both sevoflurane and propofol Additionally, desensitization of I GABA induced by either propofol or sevoflurane was not observed We examined actions of various concentrations of propofol (3 × 10 -7, 1 × 10 -6, 3 × 10 -6 mol / L), sevoflurane (7 × 10 -4 mol / L) and their combination at concentrations relevant to clinical trials anesthesia on I GABA propofol (3 × 10 -7, 1 × 10 -6, 3 × 10 -6 mol / L) produced a concentration dependent increase in the response to 3 × 10 -6 mol / L GABA on I GABA When combined with 7 × 10 -4 mol / L sevoflurane, the potentiation of response to GABA obtained with various concentrations of propofol was not different from a theoretical additive response (P> 0.05) Conclusions Either sevoflurane or propofol and their combination at clinically relevant enrichment potentiate the GABA-induced chloride current, which may at least partially contribute to the anesthetic mechanism Additive interaction obtained with a co application of propofol and sevoflurane may provide an evidence for a clinical combination of these two anesthetic agents