Estrogen and progestins have adverse effects, and many of these adverse effects are caused by progestins. Due to this, many women choose to use botanical alternatives for hormone replacement therapy, which does not trigger steroidogenic properties. Therefore, it is necessary to screen these herbs for progestogenic and anti-progestogenic properties. Extract of 13 Chinese medicinal plants were analysed for progestogenic and anti-progestogenic activities by using progesterone response element-driven luciferase reporter gene bioassay. MTT assay was carried out to investigate the cytotoxic effect of herb extract on PAE cells. Among the 13 herbs, Dipsacus asperoides extract exhibited progestogenic activity, and 10 species - Cortex eucommiae, Folium artemisiae argyi, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Angelica sinensis, Atractylodes macrocephala koidz, Scutellaria baicalensis, Cuscuta chinensis, Euscaphis japonica, Ailanthus altissima, and Dioscorea opposita - were recognized to have anti-progestogenic like activities. Extract of Dipsacus asperoides demonstrated dose-dependent progestogenic activity, and the progestogenic activity of 100 (mu)g/mL extracts was equivalent to 31.45 ng/mL progesterone activity. Herbs extracts that exhibited anti-progestogenic-like activity also inhibited the 314.46 ng/mL progesterone activity in a dose-response manner. None of the herb extracts shown significant toxic effect on PAE cells at 40-100 (mu)g/mL compared to control. This discovery will aid selection of suitable herbs for hormone replacement therapy.

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Chemical and immunological analyses used to detect progesterone and its agonists and antagonists are unable to detect biological activities of unknown compounds. The objective of the experiment was to develop a progesterone-responsive reporter plasmid to detect progestogens and anti-progestogens. Progesterone-responsive luciferase reporter plasmid, pGL3-2PRE-TATA, was constructed by inserting two progesterone-response elements (PRE) and the TATA box at the multiple cloning site of pGL3 basic vector. T47D human breast cancer cells were co-transfected with c pGL3-2PRE-TATA and pCH110 plasmid. The transfected cells were exposed to progesterone, anti-progesterone, herb extracts or animal serum to induce the luciferase gene expression. Cells were lysed, and cell lysates were used to measure the luciferase and ?-galactosidase expression level as well as total protein content. Luciferase activity was normalized by ?-galactosidase activity and total protein content. The constructed plasmid was sensitive to progestogens and anti-progestogens in a dose-responsive manner. The pGL3-2PRE-TATA plasmid can be used to detect the progestogenic and anti-progestogenic activity of known and unknown compounds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bvet.v30i1.16280 Bangl. vet. 2013. Vol. 30, No. 1, 10-19