A brand new birth control that uses only natural but hormone-free ingredients could be just around the corner.
In any case, this is the result of a study by Swedish scientists at the Royal University of Technology , who managed to strengthen the mucus wall in the cervix of sheep with a special gel.
In the future, it is hoped that such a gel can be used instead of spermicidal creams or hormonal drugs with associated side effects, such as the pill.
Strengthens natural mucus protection
The gel used in the experiment contains a natural substance called chitosan, which is made from mushrooms or crab shells.
The substance binds to certain proteins that are found in the mucus in the vagina, which creates normal lubrication there.
The binding of chitosan to the protein makes the mucus thicker and, for the taste, it prevents the sperm from getting further up the fallopian tube where the fertilization takes place.
In this way, no sperms get through the 2-3 cm of the cervix, where there is mucus that only allows relatively few sperms to pass through.
In the Swedish experiment, the researchers injected the gel into the spoons of a total of eight ewes at the time they were ovulating. An hour later, a sperm containing a billion sperm was injected into the spoon.
Closer inspection revealed that the gel created an effective barrier and only in one case out of eight did sperms make it through the cervix, and in that case only two out of a billion got through.
The researchers also found that the drug did not cause inflammation in the vagina, which can be the case with some non-hormonal contraceptives.
The next step is now to investigate whether the mucus wall also remains tight during intercourse and finally to test it on humans.
