A SIMPLE METHOD FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE ESTROGENIC SUBSTANCES OF URINE

¹ From the Laboratories of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Surgery and Physiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

The estrogenic substances of urine are effectively adsorbed by charcoal. The adsorption product thus obtained when administered orally is as effective as the administration of a corresponding quantity of urine orally and one-third as effective as the administration of an equal quantity of urine parenterally. This method of charcoal feeding thus offers a simple procedure for studying the variations in estrogenic effects of urines under different physiological conditions. Since there occurs a considerable concentration of the active principles the method allows the detection, for example, of the relatively small amounts of estrogenic substances in male urine or the variation in estrogenic potency of female urine during the menstrual cycle. This procedure is also recommended for the preparation of the estrogenic substances of pregnancy urine in a form sufficiently concentrated for clinical administration.