Presence and concentration of 17 hormones in human placenta processed for encapsulation and consumption

Highlights

• Twenty-eight samples of human placenta processed for encapsulation were analyzed.

• Concentrations of 16 steroids and melatonin were determined in these samples.

• The estimated daily intake in placenta capsules was calculated for each hormone.

• Concentrations of many hormones are relatively low.

• Some estrogens and progestogens may reach physiological effect thresholds.

Abstract

Human maternal placentophagy is a rare but growing practice in several industrialized countries among postpartum mothers seeking a variety of purported health benefits attributed to the practice. These postpartum mothers typically consume their placenta as a processed, encapsulated supplement. To determine whether free (unconjugated) steroid hormones and melatonin in placenta can survive the encapsulation process (namely steaming and dehydration), we analyzed 28 placenta samples processed for encapsulation using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to evaluate the concentration of 17 hormones. The results revealed detectable concentrations for 16 of the hormones analyzed, some in concentrations that could conceivably yield physiological effects.

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].