Sourcing for a New Oytocic Agent: Comparative Activities of the Oxytocic Substance in Fresh and Dried Sheep Placenta

Abstract

Background: Extracts of both fresh and dried sheep placenta have been employed in traditional obstetric practice in Nigeria to facilitate labour. The comparative oxytocin effects of an extracts of the pulverized dried sheep placenta with normal saline and a normal saline infusion of the fresh placenta were investigated on pregnant guinea-pig uterus. Method: Increasing concentrations of placental wash and placental extract were administered to uterine preparation which was mounted in a 50ml aerated organ bath. Uterine contractions were recorded on smoke paper mounted on a rotating kymograph drum. The effects were compared with those due to increasing concentrations of oxytocin as standard recorded on the same tissue. Results: Infusion from the fresh placenta was 2.89 – 5.70 times more potent than the extract of the dried placenta. Oxytocin showed a higher relative potency than either of the extracts; 2.5 x 106 times as potent the dried placental extract and 8.7 x 105 times more potent than the fresh placental infusion. Conclusion: The oxytocic substance in the placenta is to some degree affected by drying, hence its lower potency. Key Words: Sheep placenta, Extract, Infusion, Relative Oxytocic Potency. Jnl of Medical Investigation and Practice Vol.1 2000: 29-3