THE EFFECT OF CERTAIN PLANT PREPARATIONS ON THE FERTILITY OF LABORATORY MAMMALS

Abstract

SUMMARY Dry powdered seeds of the legume Psoralea corylifolia L. proved to be oestrogenic when included in the normal diet of adult female mice at levels calculated to give an intake of 0·35 g or 0·175 g seed/day. Both spayed and intact females exhibited intense vaginal cornification during treatment, but the effect was reversible. The fertility of adult females was impaired by consumption of 0·35 g Psoralea seed for 37–77 days, and an abnormal proportion of matings made with treated or normal partners was infertile, resulting in pseudopregnancies. The animals recovered within 1 week of transfer to a normal diet. The fertility of male mice was not impaired by treatment for 46 days. Consumption of 0·25 g Psoralea seed daily precipitated vaginal opening in immature female mice. The oestrogenic potency of the plant material was low and psoralen(e) (furo-2:3:7:6-coumarin), known to occur in the kernel of Psoralea corylifolia, was not the active constituent.