Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have found a birth control that is hormone free, fully natural, resulted in no known side effects so far, is harmless to eggs and sperm, could be used both in the long- and short-term, and it can be used either before or after conception, from ancient Chinese folk medicine. "Because these two plant compounds block fertilization at very, very low concentrations -- about 10 times lower than levels of levonorgestrel in Plan B -- they could be a new generation of emergency contraceptive we nicknamed 'molecular condoms,'" team leader Polina Lishko, an assistant professor of molecular and cell biology, said in a press release.
The active compounds are pregnenolone sulfate — and the two plant-derived inhibitors pristimerin and lupeol. According to the publication.
And they work by blocking ABHD2 that signals to sperms to move faster. However these compounds hit a target that is important for many cell types in the body. So these compounds are no "magic bullet" and a better comparison is that of carpet bombing.
The chemicals they studied are supposedly extracted from mangoes and dandelion roots.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1700367114 — a full pre-print is available.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Rivenaleem on Tuesday May 30 2017, @02:39PM
Do you know what is also "all natural"? Rocks. Rocks are typically 100% natural, though you may find many that have been processed by humans. It is a well known that the repeated application of rocks to the testes or epididymis can result in an irreversible contraceptive in males. There are a few side effects, but the process is quite natural and we all know that's what matters most, right?