Short communicationPresence and concentration of 17 hormones in human placenta processed for encapsulation and consumption
Introduction
The purported benefits of human maternal placentophagy, including improved maternal postpartum affect, energy, and lactation, are widely reported, although these are largely in the form of personal, anecdotal accounts in popular or social media [1], placentophagy advocacy literature [2] and online sources [3], or in self-reported research surveys [4]. To date, however, the practice has not been subjected to rigorous scientific investigation. The frequency of maternal placentophagy in the US and other industrialized countries, where it has been reported as a rare but established practice, is currently unknown, although one estimate based on client reports from a Portland, Oregon lactation consultant suggests as many as 50% of homebirth mothers and 10% of women delivering in birthing centers or hospitals engage in the practice (about 2000 mothers annually) in this US metropolitan area alone [5]. A survey of 189 placentophagic mothers suggests that ingestion of processed, encapsulated placenta is the most common form of the practice [4]. Many postpartum conditions, particularly depression, are thought to be caused by the precipitous drop in estrogens (estradiol and estriol) and progestogens (progesterone and its neuroactive metabolite, allopregnanolone) that occur at birth [see 6]. Placentophagy advocates claim that hormones retained in the placenta, such as estrogens and progesterone, likely provide a key source of the beneficial postpartum effects attributed to placentophagy, such as the relief of depressive symptoms and improved milk production [2], [3]. Alternatively, some placentophagy researchers question whether such processing would destroy potentially beneficial biomolecular components [5], [7], [8], [9]. In order to determine whether cooked and processed placenta retains potentially bioavailable hormones, we used liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)1 to analyze the concentration of 17 hormones: 11-deoxycortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 7-ketodehydroepiandrosterone, aldosterone, allopregnanolone, androstenedione, corticosterone, cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)2, 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT)3, estradiol, estriol, estrone, melatonin, progesterone, and testosterone, in 28 placentas processed for encapsulation and consumption. Due to the exploratory nature of this study and because the hormonal content of encapsulated placenta has not been evaluated, these hormones were selected to provide the most comprehensive profile possible for encapsulated placenta. Additionally, the hormone classes included here are associated with the reported benefits of placentophagy (e.g., effects of steroids on mood) [4], [6].
Section snippets
Placenta donors
All methods were approved by the Institutional Review Board and Institutional Biosafety Committee at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study. Processed placenta samples were collected from 28 healthy female donors between the ages of 20–38 (mean age = 29.9 y) in the Las Vegas area who had previously decided to ingest their placenta postpartum. One placenta donor reported taking thyroid medication during
Results and discussion
Fifteen of the 17 hormones analyzed were detected in all 28 placenta samples. Melatonin was detected in only one third of the samples (n = 9, 32.1%), and DHT, the most active of the androgens, was below the detection limit (Table 2). Table 3 provides an overview of published hormone concentrations in unprepared placenta [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]. Variation between these values and our findings may result from differences in sampling site, tissue preparation, extraction, and analysis
Conflict of interest statement
This study was made possible, in part, by the collaboration between the study authors and Placenta Benefits LTD, a human placentophagy information and advocacy website and encapsulation service provider. Placenta Benefits LTD encapsulation providers were paid the standard fee for the placenta encapsulation services they provided to study participants. No Placenta Benefits LTD personnel were involved in any part of the study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. None
Contributors
Sharon M. Young: I declare that I participated in the study design, data and sample collection, interpretation of the data, and manuscript preparation, and that I have approved the final version. I declare no conflicts of interest.
Laura K. Gryder: I declare that I participated in the study design, data and sample collection, interpretation of the data, and manuscript preparation, and that I have approved the final version. I declare no conflicts of interest.
David Zava: I declare that I
Funding sources
This research was funded through several sources of University of Nevada, Las Vegas student support and research grant funding. These include UNLV Graduate and Professional Student Association Sponsorship funding, the Edwards and Olswang grant, the Rocchio Scholarship, the Angela Peterson Scholarship, the Sustaunak Scholarship, and the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Trustees Fellowship. These sponsors had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, in
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the laboratory resources and expertise contributed by ZRT Laboratory, as well as placenta encapsulation providers Marcie Webb, Romina Lizaso, and especially, Jodi Selander, founder and director of Placenta Benefits LTD, without whose collaboration this study would not have been possible.
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2019, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology CanadaCitation Excerpt :However, the sample sizes were limited (n = 38).3,4 A recent study evaluated the presence of hormones in the placenta and demonstrated that within the 28 placentas encapsulated that were tested, only estradiol, progesterone, and allopregnanolone could potentially reach physiologic levels at the dose prescribed by encapsulation providers.5 However, following the process of dehydration and handling, it is unclear whether any proportion of these hormones would remain biologically active.