EFFECT OF dl-α-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE ON PROGESTERONE METABOLISM

Abstract

THERE is a large amount of biological and clinical literature1 on the possible interaction of progesterone and vitamin E, especially in pregnancy. This problem, however, seems still far from being solved (1,2). To our knowledge, it has been dealt with by means of biochemical methods in only three reports. In these instances the authors used the determination of urinary sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate (NaPG) by Venning's method (3, 4). During the human menstrual cycle (5) and in imminent abortion (6), daily doses of vitamin E in the form of α-tocopherol acetate increased the NaPG output considerably. In normal pregnancy (7) the increase of NaPG output after dl-tocopherol acetate administration was not very great. Huber's (8) new chromatographic method for routine determinations of urinary pregnanediol, with the modifications described in this paper, enabled us to investigate the problem under discussion on a larger experimental basis. The object of this study was to determine whether administration of dl-α-tocopherol acetate could affect the known part of progesterone metabolism. The transformation of progesterone into urinary pregnanediol was studied under conditions which excluded any influence of ovarian function during the menstrual cycle.