FRUCTOSE AND CITRIC ACID ASSAY IN THE SECRETIONS OF THE ACCESSORY GLANDS OF REPRODUCTION AS INDICATOR TESTS OF MALE SEX HORMONE ACTIVITY

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Abstract
Semen of bull and many other mammals is distinguished by a high content of fructose and citric acid. Both these substances are produced in the accessory glands of reproduction, chiefly the seminal vesicles, but their production is dependent entirely on the presence of male sex hormone. This makes it possible to use the assay of fructose and citric acid as an "indicator test" for male hormone. An anatomical, histological and chemical study has been made of bull seminal glands at maturity and at the various stages of sexual development. On the whole, the morph. changes in the developing glands and the development of the chemical functions run parallel. Bull-calves castrated early in life, at an age prior to the appearance of fructose and citric acid in the seminal glands, are unable to produce either fructose or citric acid in the course of their later development; a 9-month-old castrate has hardly any fructose or citric acid in the seminal glands whereas a normal bull of this age is distinguished by a high content of both substances. However, a rapid formation of both fructose and citric acid can be induced in the castrate animals by 1 month''s treatment with testosterone propionate. The difference in the contents of fructose and citric acid between untreated and treated calves is considerable and contrasts strikingly with the rather small cyto-logical recovery changes which result from the relatively brief treatment with testosterone.
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