Isolation and identification of prostaglandins from the reproductive organs of male silkmoth, Bombyx mori L.

The presence of a fat soluble material in the reproductive organs of male silkmoth, Bombyx mori L., which stimulates the contraction of the smooth muscle has been demonstrated to be due to prostaglandins. The active material isolated and separated by thin layer chromatography has been shown to be a mixture of two types of prostaglandins, PGE and PGFα. PGE could be resolved into PGE1 and PGE2 and PGFα into PGF1α and PGF2α. The identifications have been made by comparing the Rf values with standard compounds on TLC, by u.v. absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopic analyses and by enzymic assay procedures