Estrogen potency of oral contraceptive pills

The estrogen potencies of 9 oral contraceptive pills, Enovid-E, Enovid-5, Ovulen, Demulen, Norinyl+80, Norinyl+50, Ovral, Norlestrin 1 mg. and Norlestrin 2.5 mg., were determined by bioassay. Relative estrogen potency was determined by analysis of variance. Enovid-5, the most estrogenic compound, had a potency of 4.88 compared to ethinyl estradiol, 50 mcg. equal 1.00; Ovral, the least estrogenic compound, had a potency of 0.81, a sixfold difference. Estrogen potencies at a fractional dose of 0.00155 correlate with reports of the incidence of minor side effects and thromboembolic disease. The effect of progestins on estrogen potency was purely additive (norgestrel and norethynodrel), purely antagonistic, or additive at low concentrations and antagonistic at high concentrations (norethindrone, norethindrone acetate, and ethynodiol diacetate). These results suggest that pills with a greater margin of safety might be developed by utilizing greater ratios of progestin to estrogen. In addition, differences in relative estrogen potency of oral contraceptive pills may be used as a basis for better clinical selection.