Preliminary observations in the rabbit on the anti-ovulatory activity present in Taxus baccata linn. leaves.

Taxus baccata Linn., a tree which grows abundantly in India, has been reported to possess an antifertility effect (Kirtikar & Basu, 1935; Chopra, Nayar & Chopra, 1956; Chopra, Chopra, Handa & Kapoor, 1958; Chaudhury, 1966). Khanna, Garg, Vohora, Walia & Chaudhury (1969) recently reported that anti-implantation activity is present in the leaves. Possible anti-ovulatory activity of different extracts of leaves of Taxus baccata has been screened on fifty-eight, adult, non-pregnant rabbits, each weighing between 1\m=.\5and 2\m=.\0kg. The rabbits were obtained from a local source and housed in independent cages for at least 3 weeks before use. The air-dried, powdered leaves of Taxus baccata were successively extracted with petroleum ether (b.p. 60 to 80\s=deg\C), alcohol (95 %) and distilled water and the extracts were administered as a suspension with gum acacia, by a soft rubber catheter, at different intervals before induction of ovulation. Ovulation was induced by injecting copper acetate intravenously (4\m=.\0mg/kg), a method which has been standardized in this laboratory (Khanna & Chaudhury, 1968). Earlier investigators have used induction ofovulation by cupric gluconate (Suzuki & Bialy, 1964) as a method for testing anti-ovulatory substances. To