Premature Induction of Labor with Dilinoleyl Lecithin in Rabbits

Abstract

Extract: Dilinoleyl lecithin (DLL), identified as a component of a crude mixture of soya bean phospholipids (SBP), was obtained in highly pure form by synthesis. The DLL was administered to 25-day pregnant rabbits in doses of 1.0 and 2.0 g/rabbit. One unit of oxytocin was administered intramuscularly 24, 48, and 49 hr after infusion, and the rabbits were observed for abortion. The abortion rate after the 1.0-g dose of DLL was 56.9 ± 6.9% and that after the 2.0-g dose was 100.0 ± 0%; the rate in controls was 2.6 ± 2.6%.

Speculation: Dilinoleyl lecithin, a biochemically defined component of SBP, was found to be capable of reproducing the biologic activity of SBP in prematurely sensitizing the pregnant rabbit uterus to oxytocin. The mode of action of both DLL and SBP is unknown, but two possibilities appear likely: (1) the linoleic acid (or, for SBP, perhaps other “essential” fatty acids as well) available from lecithin is converted to a prostaglandin, which in turn sensitizes the rabbit uterus to oxytocin or (2) DLL in some way reduces the amount of progesterone available to maintain the pregnancy. The latter possibility does not necessarily exclude the former, inasmuch as certain prostaglandins are known to be luteolytic.

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