Effects of centchroman, a synthetic estrogen antagonist on the fertility of female hamsters.

ABSTRACT

Centchroman (3, 4-trans-2, 2-dimethyl-3-phenyl-4-p-beta-pyrrolidinoethoxy-phenyl-7-methoxy-chroman) , a non-steroidal, estrogen antagonist, injected subcutaneously (2 mg/kg body wt) on days 1, 2 and 3 post-coitum in hamsters, prevented implantation in 70% of the animals. A significant decrease in the circulating levels of estradiol and progesterone was observed on day 4 post-coitum as compared to control animals following the treatment of centchroman. The activities of various lysosomal enzymes were also found diminished in the treated animals. This study shows that centchroman may act as an anti-implantation agent in hamsters indicating that estrogen plays a key role during the process of ovum implantation in this species.