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Mestranol
Introduction
Mestranol is the 3-methyl ether of ethinylestradiol. It was the estrogen used in many of the first oral contraceptives.
It is a biologically inactive prodrug of ethinylestradiol to which it is demethylated in the liver with a conversion efficiency of 70% (50 µg of mestranol is pharmacokinetically bioequivalent to 35 µg of ethinylestradiol).[1]
References
- ↑ Faigle, Johann W.; Schenkel, Lotte (1998). “Pharmacokinetics of estrogens and progestogens”. In in Fraser, Ian S. (ed.). Estrogens and Progestogens in Clinical Practice. London: Churchill Livingstone. pp. pp. 273-294. ISBN 0-443-04706-5.