[Identification of substances with biological activity similar to prostaglandins in Cestoda of Moniezia genus].

Prostaglandins are biologically active substances which are found in large quantities in the semen of man and sheep, and in lower quantities in the amniotic and menstrual fluids, uterus, lungs, thymus, pancreas, and renal tissue. It is determined that such substances derive from unsaturated fatty acids, and that their main function is the regulation of the cell metabolism. Through the use of thin-plate chromatography as well as through the correspondent pharmacological action of the eluates upon prostaglandin-sensitive isolated organs, the presence of lipidic substances with biological activity similar to that of prostaglandins was determined for the first time ever in extracts of Moniezia cestodes. Such finding is assessed, and the possibility that the diarrhea frequently found in animals infested by such parasites may be caused by the action of their own prostaglandins on the intestinal smooth musculature of the animals, as well as the passibility that the agents inhibitory of the prostaglandin synthesis may be used in the treatment of such parasitosis are expressed.