2.1. Preparation of saline extract .fi'om &ied
plaeenta
Fresh placenta from recently delivered sheep
was cleaned with normal saline and all blood clots
were removed. The placenta was then weighed,
cut into small pieces and dried in a hot air oven at
40 50°C until a constant weight was obtained
The dried placenta was then pulverized in a ceramic
mortar and the powder was stored in a
desiccator. Ten g aliquots of the powder were
extracted at room temperature with 25 ml of
normal saline t~r 3 h, after which it was centrifuged
at 4800 rev./min for l0 rain. The supernatant
was collected and stored in a refrigerator at
4°C. Any volume of the extract, therefore, was
easily related to the weight of the powdered placenta
and thus to the weight of the fresh placenta.
The weight of the extract was expressed as weight
of dry placenta which produced that quantity of
extract.