Dr. del Pozo made the following observations following 
three years of research on 1xbut: 
(1) For an accurate evaluation of any galactagogue such as 
ixbut, a long control period is necessary, since short term trials 
are unreliable; 
(2) Asaresult of his studies, Dr. del Pozo concluded that ixbut 
does not induce lactation in non-lactating women — despite 
popular, folkloric claims in Guatemala to the contrary. 
(3) Ixbut does not produce breast pain or congestion in lacta- 
ting women between the second and fourteenth month of lacta- 
tion; 
(4) Ixbut does not produce any appreciable change in breast 
volume or in the mammary glands of nursing mothers; 
(5) The active principle (if any) of ixbut does not seem to be 
unstable. Very fresh plant material administered in Guatemala 
did not show higher activity than material several days old. 
This fact is also contrary to popular belief in Guatemala; 
(6) Ixbut seems to have higher activity as a galactagogue in 
Guatemala during the month of November, i.e., in the early 
part of the dry season in Guatemala City shortly before the 
plant blossoms; 
(7) On the whole, in the opinion of Dr. del Pozo, the lactogenic 
properties of ixbut have been considerably exaggerated — not 
only in the case of women, but also when he carried out ixbut 
tests on postpartum female cats: 
(8) Dr. del Pozo, however, pointed out that the striking effects 
of ixbut reported in Guatemala by lay people cannot be totally 
denied on the basis of his testings. The Guatemalan claims refer 
mainly to ixbut used during the first days after delivery when 
lactation is started; while his tests were designed usually to 
explore lactagogue effects from two to fourteen months after 
childbirth; 
(9) Furthermore, Dr. del Pozo personally knew of the case ofa 
woman in Mexico City who had to feed artificially two of her 
previous children for lack of natural milk. When she received 
infusions of fresh ixbut, she was able to breastfeed her third 
child with a remarkable increase of the volume of milk. 
During 1952, Merck & Co., Inc. discontinued its research on 
ixbut. It was felt that although ixbut may have some effects as a 
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