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STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF VITAMIN E (TOCOPHEROLS) TO THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
in Journal of EndocrinologyAlthough it is now established that deprivation of vitamin E may lead to disturbances of structure and function of many tissues other than those primarily concerned in the reproductive cycle, it is not surprising, when the striking nature of the testicular degeneration and the curious character of the typical resorption in the female are borne in mind, that there has been a tendency to concentrate attention on the question whether the vitamin plays an essential part in the reproductive cycle.
The most direct approach has been made by investigating whether the vitamin itself exerts a gonadotrophic action. Up to the present the evidence has been inconclusive. The most striking claim is that of Szarka [1929], who stated that oral or parenteral administration of vitamin E concentrates produces oestrus in immature female rats. Later, Verzár [1931] recorded that injection of similar materials produced hypertrophy of the uterus in similar animals, but
