[Sterility caused by protein deficiency: the role of prolactin]

The first piece of research was made on mice in order to try to determine the importance of the ration of protein in the food in the maintenance of pregnancy and the mechanism by which protein lack leads to sterility. Five groups of 100 couples were given diets which contained 23.5%, 12.48%, 10.50%, 7.01% and 0% of protein respectively over a period of 100 days. The drop in the percentage of protein was obtained by adding detoxicated cassava flour and the diet without any protein was made up of starch, maize oil, mineral salts and vitamins. The number of litterings per 100 couples was only lowered when the diet was down to 7.01% of protein and at the same time it was only with this diet that one found a significant reduction in the number of young per litter. When the diet had no protein in it at all no young were born at all. Pregnant rats were fed diets which contained 23.5%, 7.01% or no protein at all. In this last diet we watched to stop coprophagia. There was very little difference in the number of implantations and young born with a diet of 7.01% of protein but a very significant drop with the diet without protein. With this last diet was very little significant difference in the series whether one had watched to stop coprophagia or not. An injection of 10 I.U. of HCG from the 3rd to the 13th day of pregnancy in rats fed a protein-free died did not alter significantly the number of implantations and did lead to complete resorption of the embryos.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)