| Abstract: | Gangetin, a plant pterocarpan when administered subcutaneously to adult male rats at a dose of 2 mg/kg body weight/day for 56 days caused a significant reduction in mating rate. Also a decrease in the weight of the testes and accessory sex organs, a decrease in fructose content of the coagulating gland and a reduction in acid phosphatase activity in the prostate were observed. All these effects were found to be reversed by exogenous prolactin (500 μg/kg body weight/day) plus testosterone propionate (200 μg/kg body weight/day), but not by prolactin or testosterone alone, when administered along with gangetin for the last 28 days. An inhibitory influence of gangetin over the reproductive organs is believed to be attributed primarily to the antiprolactin nature of gangetin and secondarily to the significant (p <0.001) fall in plasma testosterone level caused by gangetin. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
