Formation of Prostaglandin in vitro

Abstract

The contracting power of smooth muscle in seminal fluid and in extracts from prostatic and vesicular glands was described independently by von Euler¹ and Goldblatt². The biological and chemical characteristics were further studied by von Euler³. The active principle, prostaglandin, was shown to be an organic, unsaturated acid without nitrogen. In vivo and in vitro it produced an increased tone and motility in many smooth muscle organs, for example, in the uterus and the intestine. Highly purified preparations of prostaglandin have a contracting effect on smooth muscle of isolated duodenums of rabbits comparable with that of acetylcholine⁴. The active principle has hitherto been found only in secretions and extracts from the prostatic and vesicular glands from man and sheep. More recently, other naturally occurring substances with similar biological and chemical characteristics have been described⁵.