title: Amniotic-fluid ingestion by parturient rats enhances pregnancy-mediated analgesia
creator: Kristal, Dr. Mark B.
creator: Thompson, Alexis C.
creator: Abbott, P.
creator: DiPirro, Jean M.
creator: Ferguson, E.J.
creator: Doerr, J. C.
subject: Psychobiology
subject: Neuropharmacology
subject: Behavioral Neuroscience
description: Amniotic fluid and placenta contain a substance (POEF, for Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor) that, when ingested, enhances opioid-mediated analgesia in nonpregnant rats; ingestion of the substance by rats not experiencing opioid-mediated analgesia, however, does not produce analgesia. It is highly likely that periparturitional analgesia-enhancement is a significant benefit of ingestion of the afterbirth (placentophagia) during delivery. Here we report that prepartum ingestion of amniotic fluid (via orogastric infusion) does indeed enhance the endogenous-opioid-mediated analgesia evident at the end of pregnancy and during delivery; that the degree of enhancement is greater with 0.75 ml than with 0.25 ml, and that the prepartum enhancement of analgesia can be blocked with the opioid antagonist naloxone.
publisher: Pergamon Press
date: 1990
type: Journal (Paginated)
type: PeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: http://cogprints.org/5769/1/ls.pdf
identifier:   Kristal, Dr. Mark B. and Thompson, Alexis C. and Abbott, P. and DiPirro, Jean M. and Ferguson, E.J. and Doerr, J. C.  (1990) Amniotic-fluid ingestion by parturient rats enhances pregnancy-mediated analgesia.  [Journal (Paginated)]     
relation: http://cogprints.org/5769/