HEME CONTAINING FRACTIONS OF BLOOD AS RELATED TO THE AUGMENTATION OF PITUITARY GONADOTROPIC EXTRACTS

Abstract

Whole blood, erythrocytes, Hb, globin, porphyrin, heme and hemin were prepared from cow blood and mixed in vitro with pituitary gonadotropic extracts and administered to immature [female] rats. Other rats were treated with the pituitary extracts alone. The difference between the mean ovarian weight obtained with the pituitary extracts and that obtained with the extracts plus the augmenters was considered as augmentation. Whole blood, erythrocytes, Hb, heme and hemin gave highly significant augmentation while globin, porphyrin and ferrous and ferric chloride did not augment. Heme and hemin gave the greatest augmentation, the difference between the mean ovarian weights (control and treated rats) was 193 [plus or minus] 15 mgm.