Altrenogest, sold under the brand names Swinemate and Altren manufactured by Aurora Pharmaceutical and Regumate manufactured by Merck, is a
progestin of the
19-nortestosterone group which is widely used in
veterinary medicine to suppress or synchronize
estrus in
horses and
pigs.[3][4][5][6][7] It is available for veterinary use in both
Europe (as Regumate) and the
United States (as Matrix).[8]
Although very potent in both activities in vitro, the AR/PR activational potency ratio of altrenogest was in the same range as that of other 19-nortestosterone progestins such as
norethisterone,
noretynodrel,
norgestrel, and allylestrenol (ratio for all < 1.0), whereas the AR/PR activational potency ratio of its 17α-deallylated AAS
analogue trenbolone was, at 64, profoundly increased (although the ratio of metribolone (the 17α-methylated variant of altrenogest), at 0.56, was almost the same as that of altrenogest).[9]
According to its
manufacturerRoussel Uclaf, altrenogest has weak
anabolic and
androgenic activity equivalent to 1/20th of that of
testosterone.[10] However, no significant androgenic effects have been observed in young
stallions or mature
mares,[11] and altrenogest has notably been used to maintain
pregnancy in mares (similarly to the use of allylestrenol to maintain pregnancy in women) with no incidence of
virilization or other abnormalities in
fillyoffspring.[12] On the other hand, minor potential anabolic/androgenic effects have been suggested for altrenogest in pigs.[11]
Altrenogest has been marketed as Regumate since the early 1980s.[11]
Society and culture
Generic names
Altrenogest is the
generic name of the drug and its
INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name,
USANTooltip United States Adopted Name, and
BANTooltip British Approved Name, while altrénogest is its
DCFTooltip Dénomination Commune Française.[3][4][5]
Brand names
Altrenogest is marketed under the brand names Regumate and Matrix among others.[3][4][5]
^
abZeelen FJ (1990).
Medicinal chemistry of steroids. Elsevier Science Limited. pp. 108–109.
ISBN978-0-444-88727-6. Other examples are allylestrenol (42), a pro-drug converted to the 3-keto analogue (43), which is used in the treatment of threatened abortion [78,79] and altrenogest (44), used in sows and mares to suppress ovulation and estrus behaviour [80]. [...] Progestins with a 17a-allyl side chain: (42) allylestrenol, (43), (44) altrenogest.
^
abcdMcRobb L, Handelsman DJ, Kazlauskas R, Wilkinson S, McLeod MD, Heather AK (May 2008). "Structure-activity relationships of synthetic progestins in a yeast-based in vitro androgen bioassay". The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 110 (1–2): 39–47.
doi:
10.1016/j.jsbmb.2007.10.008.
PMID18395441.
S2CID5612000.
^Kluber EF, Minton JE, Stevenson JS, Hunt MC, Davis DL, Hoagland TA, Nelssen JL (February 1988). "Growth, carcass traits, boar odor and testicular and endocrine functions of male pigs fed a progestogen, altrenogest". Journal of Animal Science. 66 (2): 470–478.
doi:
10.2527/jas1988.662470x.
PMID3131291.