ASSESSMENT OF RELATIONSHIP OF CIRCULATING NITRATE-NITRITE RATIO WITH FEMALE SEX STEROIDS IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF MENSTRUAL CYCLE

Background: Nitric oxide is involved in diverse physiological and pathological conditions, including those of the female reproductive tract. As it has a very short half-life, it is measured as nitrate-nitrite ratio. This study was aimed to assess the interrelationship between the fluctuating levels of estrogen, progesterone and serum nitrate-nitrite ratio in different phases of menstrual cycle measured in healthy females of reproductive age group. Material Methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from 71 healthy female volunteers on 3rd, 14th and 28th day of menstruation. The serum estradiol and progesterone were measured by ELISA and nitrate-nitrite ratio by the cadmium reduction method. Results: Statistics revealed a significant rise (p 0.05) of the nitrate-nitrite ratio along with estrogen. There was also a considerable rise in progesterone in the follicular phase which fell off abruptly with ovulation. But no such rise in the nitrate-nitrite ratio was observed in the luteal phase. Conclusion: The increase in ratio was analogous to the fluctuations in estrogen throughout the cycle, but no such significant relation with progesterone was observed