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. 1971 Nov;43(3):560–569. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1971.tb07186.x

In vivo production of steroids with central depressant actions by the ovary of the rat

Margarethe Holzbauer
PMCID: PMC1665797  PMID: 5168235

Abstract

1. In addition to progesterone and 20-dihydroprogesterone, the following unconjugated steroids were isolated from ovarian tissue and ovarian venous blood of mature, non-pregnant rats: pregnenolone, 3βOH-5α-pregnan-20-one, 3αOH-5α-pregnan-20-one, 20αOH-5α-pregnan-3-one and 5α-pregnane-3α, 20α-diol.

2. Their concentration in the ovarian tissue and their secretion rates into the ovarian venous blood was of the same order of magnitude as that of progesterone.

3. In the evening of the day of pro-oestrus significant increases in the ovarian contents of the following steroids were observed: progesterone, +140%; 3αOH-5α-pregnan-20-one, +320%; 20αOH-5α-pregnan-3-one, +195%; sum of pregnenolone and 3βOH-5α-pregnan-20-one, +275%.

4. At the same time the ovarian progeterone secretion rate was increased by 365%, that of 3αOH-5α-pregnan-20-one by 190%.

5. A possible physiological role of the ovarian allopregnane derivatives as central depressant agents is discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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