Antifertility Investigations on Embelin - an Oral Contraceptive of Plant Origin.

Abstract

Embelin (embelic acid; 2,5-dihydroxy-3-undecyl-1,4-benzoquinone), a potent oral contraceptive of plant origin, has been investigated for its biological properties. It provoked remarkable anti-implantation activity when administered at 50 and 100 mg/kg doses and also reduced significantly the number of implantations (P < 0.01). It is neither antizygotic nor blastotoxic in action. Minimum effective dose (MED) in 1-5 days schedule was 50 mg/kg and at single administration (applied on 4th day of pregnancy) was 300 mg/kg (P < 0.01). It did not evoke any effect on litter size (P > 0.05). Its MED (50 mg/kg) exhibited a significant antiestrogenic and progestational properties (P < 0.01) but could not elicit any antiprogestational activity (P > 0.05), however, it evoked a significant prolongation in the duration of leucocytic phase of vaginal smear (P < 0.01).

Key Word Index

Embelia ribes - Embelin - Biological Properties