Postcoital ingestion of the aqueous extract of Erythrina falcata Benth prevents pregnancy in the mouse.
OBJECTIVE
We examined whether the aqueous extract of Erythrina falcata, reputed to be a contraceptive in Peruvian folklore, could prevent pregnancy in the mouse.


METHODS
Female mice on Day 1 of pregnancy were given aqueous extract of E. falcata or tap water (control) orally for 4 days. On Day 4 of pregnancy, animals were killed and the embryos were flushed from oviducts and uterus to examine their developmental stage, cell number, mitotic index and micronuclei frequency. Other mice were killed on Day 12 of pregnancy to determine the number of implantation sites.


RESULTS
Ingestion of E. falcata diminished the percentage of embryos that progressed to blastocyst stage, reduced the cell number and mitotic index, and increased the micronuclei frequency of early embryos. The number of implantation sites was also reduced in females treated with E. falcata.


CONCLUSIONS
The aqueous extract of E. falcata, ingested during early pregnancy, disturbs preimplantation embryo development and implantation in the mouse. These results provide the first experimental evidence of the contraceptive properties of the aqueous extract of E. falcata.
Laboratorio de Reproducción y Biología del Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú. porihuel@bio.puc.cl
Pedro A
PA
Orihuela
Victor
V
Ishiyama
D000818:Animals; D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004435:Eating; D010064:Embryo Implantation / Q000187:drug effects; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects; D004895:Erythrina; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D010568:Peru; D024301:Plant Bark; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital; D010936:Plant Extracts