A Rapid Method for Purification and Quantitative Estimation of Progesterone From Luteal Tissue

Investigations of certain problems in animal reproduction require that data be obtained on the progesterone content of corpora lutea in individual animals.A rapid and reliable method of chemical analysis is required, since a relatively large number of determinations are necessary in order to evaluate properly the variation among individual animals.Methods reported in the literature include those of Pearlman and Cerceo (1) and Noall et al. ( 2) for the detection, estimation, and isolation of progesterone from the placenta, of Butt et al. ( 3) for the estimation of progesterone from blood, of Edgar (4) for the determination of progesterone from blood and tissue, and of Samuels ( 5), as modified by Wiswell and Samuels (6), for estimation of the steroid from liver tissue.Attempts by us to apply a slight modification of the method of Wiswell and Samuels ( 6) to extracts of luteal t,issue gave unsatisfactory results because of interfering substances such as the more polar pigments which were not removed by solvent partition.The method reported here, however, is based in part on that of Samuels (5) with the introduction of modifications which permit a satisfactory estimation of the progesterone content of corpora lutea of sows and cows. MethodThe corpora lutea' (0.9 gm. to 4.7 gm. of tissue) which were stored in a freezer in a small amount of 95 per cent ethanol were chopped finely in a * Paper No. 655,