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Kristal MB, DiPirro JM, Thompson AC, Wood TD. Placentophagia and the Tao of POEF. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:104992. [PMID: 36509207 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Placentophagia, ingestion of placenta and amniotic fluid, usually during parturition, is a behavioral feature of nearly all nonaquatic, placental mammals, and is a nexus for several interlocking behavioral phenomena. Placentophagia has not been typical of human cultures, but in recent years, some women in affluent societies have engaged in it, thereby bringing publicity to the behavior. First, we summarized benefits of placentophagia for nonhuman mammals, which include increased attractiveness of neonates, enhanced onset of maternal behavior, suppression of pseudopregnancy, and enhancement of opioid hypoalgesia by Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF), a benefit that may extend well outside the context of parturition. The research on POEF in animals was discussed in detail. Then we discussed placentophagia (placentophagy) in humans, and whether there is validity to the claims of various benefits reported primarily in the pro-placentophagy literature, and, although human afterbirth shows POEF activity, the POEF effect has not yet been tested in humans. Finally, we discussed the general possible implications, for the management of pain and addiction, of isolating and characterizing POEF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B Kristal
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA; Research and Clinical Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, 1022 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA.
| | - Jean M DiPirro
- Department of Psychology, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY 14222 USA; Research and Clinical Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, 1022 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Alexis C Thompson
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA; Research and Clinical Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, 1022 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Troy D Wood
- Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, Natural Science Complex, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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Mota-Rojas D, Orihuela A, Strappini A, Villanueva-García D, Napolitano F, Mora-Medina P, Barrios-García HB, Herrera Y, Lavalle E, Martínez-Burnes J. Consumption of Maternal Placenta in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Beneficial and Adverse Effects. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E2398. [PMID: 33333890 PMCID: PMC7765311 DOI: 10.3390/ani10122398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Placentophagia is a common mammalian behavior, and the first scientific study of the potential effects of human maternal placentophagia on lactation was in 1917. More recently, in the 1970s, human placentophagia was reported in North America with a trend toward increased consumption. There are different hypotheses about the women and nonhuman mammals' motivation towards placentophagia, but few have been subject to hypotheses testing. In women, the controversy continues; on the one hand, researchers attribute benefits like increased breast milk, weight gain in newborns, decreased postpartum depression and fatigue, and improved mothers' mood. In contrast, bacterial or viral infections, hormonal, or trace elements that could become toxic for both the mother and baby are reported as possible health risks. Other reports argue a lack of scientific rigor to support the self-reported benefits of placentophagia. Also, the way the placenta is prepared (raw, cooked, dehydrated, processed, or encapsulated) alters its components, and thus the desired effects. This review provides relevant information and the different hypotheses and points of view around placentophagia. However, there are still questions to be resolved, and more studies are needed to confirm or reject the data generated so far about placentophagia in humans and nonhuman mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mota-Rojas
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), 04960 Mexico City, Mexico; (D.M.-R.); (Y.H.); (E.L.)
| | - Agustín Orihuela
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, 62209 Morelos, Mexico;
| | - Ana Strappini
- Animal Science Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile;
| | - Dina Villanueva-García
- Division of Neonatology, National Institute of Health Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, 06720 Mexico City, Mexico;
| | - Fabio Napolitano
- Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy;
| | - Patricia Mora-Medina
- Livestock Science Department, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 54714 Mexico City, Mexico;
| | - Hugo B. Barrios-García
- Graduate and Research Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria, 87000 Tamaulipas, Mexico;
| | - Yuridia Herrera
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), 04960 Mexico City, Mexico; (D.M.-R.); (Y.H.); (E.L.)
| | - Eunice Lavalle
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), 04960 Mexico City, Mexico; (D.M.-R.); (Y.H.); (E.L.)
| | - Julio Martínez-Burnes
- Graduate and Research Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria, 87000 Tamaulipas, Mexico;
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Kristal MB, DiPirro JM, Thompson AC. Placentophagia in humans and nonhuman mammals: causes and consequences. Ecol Food Nutr 2012; 51:177-97. [PMID: 22632059 DOI: 10.1080/03670244.2012.661325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Afterbirth ingestion by nonhuman mammalian mothers has a number of benefits: (1) increasing the interaction between the mother and infant; (2) potentiating pregnancy-mediated analgesia in the delivering mother; (3) potentiating maternal brain opioid circuits that facilitate the onset of caretaking behavior; and (4) suppressing postpartum pseudopregnancy. Childbirth is fraught with additional problems for which there are no practical nonhuman animal models: postpartum depression, failure to bond, hostility toward infants. Ingested afterbirth may contain components that ameliorate these problems, but the issue has not been tested empirically. The results of such studies, if positive, will be medically relevant. If negative, speculations and recommendations will persist, as it is not possible to prove the negative. A more challenging anthropological question is "why don't humans engage in placentophagia as a biological imperative?" Is it possible that there is more adaptive advantage in not doing so?
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B Kristal
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA.
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Hoey RF, Hurley SW, Daniels D, Kristal MB. Effect of amniotic-fluid ingestion on vaginal-cervical-stimulation-induced Fos expression in female rats during estrus. Brain Res 2010; 1376:51-9. [PMID: 21184750 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.12.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2010] [Revised: 12/11/2010] [Accepted: 12/15/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF) is a substance found in amniotic fluid (AF) that, when ingested, potentiates opioid-mediated, but not non-opioid-mediated, hypoalgesia. Vaginal-cervical stimulation (VCS) produces a stimulus-bound, partially opioid-mediated hypoalgesia that previous research has shown to be potentiated by AF ingestion. To understand the mechanism of opioid enhancement by POEF we investigated the pattern of neural activation after a bout of VCS that produced hypoalgesia, with and without co-administration of AF. Specifically, virgin Long-Evans rats showing vaginal estrus were handled briefly (control) or received VCS (75g pressure, 1 min), in a pattern that approximated early parturition rather than copulation, using a spring-loaded glass-rod probe. Rats were given an orogastric infusion (0.25 ml) of either AF or 0.9% saline resulting in four groups (VCS or handling; AF or saline). Rats were perfused 90 min after treatment and tissue was processed by immunohistochemistry for Fos. The number of Fos-immunoreactive cells was counted in structures previously shown to express Fos in response to VCS (the medial preoptic area, MPOA; the ventrolateral portion of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, vlVMH; the arcuate nucleus, ARC). We found that this pattern of VCS did not produce a significant increase in Fos expression in the MPOA and vlVMH unless it was paired with AF. VCS produced a significant increase in Fos in the ARC. The interaction of AF and VCS on Fos expression in the MPOA suggests that POEF may enhance vaginal-cervical sensory input at parturition to facilitate sensitization of the MPOA, and presumably facilitate maternal-behavior onset.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F Hoey
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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Neumann A, Hoey RF, Daigler LB, Thompson AC, Kristal MB. Ingestion of amniotic fluid enhances the facilitative effect of VTA morphine on the onset of maternal behavior in virgin rats. Brain Res 2009; 1261:29-36. [PMID: 19401160 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2008] [Revised: 01/12/2009] [Accepted: 01/13/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that injection of morphine into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) facilitates the onset of maternal behavior in virgin female rats, and injection of the opioid antagonist naltrexone into the VTA disrupts the onset of maternal behavior in parturient rats. Placentophagia -- ingestion of placenta and amniotic fluid, usually at parturition -- modifies central opioid processes. Ingestion of the active substance in placenta and amniotic fluid, Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF), enhances the hypoalgesic effect of centrally administered morphine, and more specifically, enhances delta- and kappa-opioid-receptor-mediated hypoalgesia and attenuates mu-opioid-receptor-mediated hypoalgesia. POEF (in placenta or amniotic fluid) ingestion does not, by itself, produce hypoalgesia. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that ingestion of amniotic fluid enhances the facilitative effect of opioid activity (unilateral morphine injection) in the VTA on the rate of onset of maternal behavior. Virgin female Long-Evans rats were given one intra-VTA injection of morphine sulfate (0.0, 0.01, or 0.03 microg, in saline) and an orogastric infusion of 0.25 ml amniotic fluid or saline once each day of the first three days of the 10-day testing period. Subjects were continuously exposed to foster pups that were replaced every 12 h; replacement of pups was followed by a 15-min observation period. Maternal behavior latency was determined by the first of two consecutive tests wherein the subject displayed pup retrieval, pup licking in the nest, and crouching over all foster pups, during the 15-min observation. We confirmed the previous finding that the VTA injection, alone, of 0.03 microg morphine shortened the latency to show maternal behavior and that 0.0 microg and 0.01 microg morphine did not. Ingestion of amniotic fluid (and therefore POEF) facilitated the onset of maternal behavior in rats receiving an intra-VTA microinjection of an otherwise subthreshold dose of morphine (0.01 microg).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Neumann
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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DiPirro JM, Kristal MB. Placenta ingestion by rats enhances δ- and κ-opioid antinociception, but suppresses μ-opioid antinociception. Brain Res 2004; 1014:22-33. [PMID: 15212988 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2004.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/01/2004] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Ingestion of placenta or amniotic fluid produces a dramatic enhancement of centrally mediated opioid antinociception in the rat. The present experiments investigated the role of each opioid receptor type (mu, delta, kappa) in the antinociception-modulating effects of Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF-presumably the active substance). Antinociception was measured on a 52 degrees C hotplate in adult, female rats after they ingested placenta or control substance (1.0 g) and after they received an intracerebroventricular injection of a delta-specific ([D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE); 0, 30, 50, 62, or 70 nmol), mu-specific ([D-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly5-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO); 0, 0.21, 0.29, or 0.39 nmol), or kappa-specific (U-62066; spiradoline; 0, 100, 150, or 200 nmol) opioid receptor agonist. The results showed that ingestion of placenta potentiated delta- and kappa-opioid antinociception, but attenuated mu-opioid antinociception. This finding of POEF action as both opioid receptor-specific and complex provides an important basis for understanding the intrinsic pain-suppression mechanisms that are activated during parturition and modified by placentophagia, and important information for the possible use of POEF as an adjunct to opioids in pain management.
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MESH Headings
- Analgesics/administration & dosage
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Differential Threshold
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Feeding Behavior
- Female
- Injections, Intraventricular
- Motor Activity
- Pain Threshold/drug effects
- Placenta
- Pregnancy
- Pyrrolidines/administration & dosage
- Rats
- Rats, Long-Evans
- Reaction Time/drug effects
- Receptors, Opioid, delta/agonists
- Receptors, Opioid, delta/metabolism
- Receptors, Opioid, kappa/agonists
- Receptors, Opioid, kappa/metabolism
- Receptors, Opioid, mu/agonists
- Receptors, Opioid, mu/metabolism
- Sexual Behavior, Animal
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean M DiPirro
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
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Corpening JW, Doerr JC, Kristal MB. Ingested bovine amniotic fluid enhances morphine antinociception in rats. Physiol Behav 2000; 70:15-8. [PMID: 10978472 DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9384(00)00244-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Ingestion by rats of rat placenta or amniotic fluid enhances opioid-mediated, or partly opioid-mediated, antinociception produced by morphine injection, vaginal or cervical stimulation, late pregnancy, and foot shock. This phenomenon is believed to be produced by a placental opioid-enhancing factor (POEF). Ingestion by rats of human or dolphin placenta has also been shown to enhance opioid antinociception, suggesting that POEF may be common to many mammalian species. We tested bovine amniotic fluid (BAF) for its capacity to enhance morphine antinociception in female Long-Evans rats, as determined by percentage change from baseline tail-flick latency in response to radiant heat, and we report that 0.50 mL BAF effectively enhanced morphine antinociception but did not by itself produce antinociception. The efficacy of POEF across species suggests that POEF may have been functionally (and structurally) conserved during evolution. Furthermore, the availability of POEF at parturition, as well as its ability to enhance pregnancy-mediated antinociception without disrupting maternal behavior, offers a tenable explanation for the long-debated ultimate causality of placentophagia.
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Affiliation(s)
- J W Corpening
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Park Hall, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA
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