galactagogue during the first days of lactation, these results 
were highly irregular and difficult to prove. 
Ixbut has been used, off and on, for many years to supple- 
ment cattle feed in Guatemala (4). In 1894, Fermin Rosal noted 
that his own cows in Cuyotenengo, on the Pacific coast of 
Guatemala, were not producing anywhere nearly as much milk 
as the cows on the neighboring hacienda which were being fed 
ixbut. 
In 1911, Eduardo Saravia Castillo elaborated a Guatemalan 
product called “‘“GALAC-LATEX”’ as a supplement for cattle 
feed, in which ixbut was the principal ingredient. This galac- 
tagogue was apparently successful for a few years, but it is no 
longer produced. 
In June 1927, Professor Guillermo Gandara carried out an 
experiment in La Ceiba, El Salvador, concerning the effect of 
ixbut on milk production in cows (14). The poorest producer 
was selected from 8 milch cows. This cow had been producing 
on the average 2 bottles of milk (each bottle roughly 3/4 liter) 
daily. For 5 consecutive days the cow was given, as a dietary 
supplement, an infusion of ixbut — 250 grams per liter of water; 
then normal forage for 3 days; then 3 days more of the dietary 
supplement of ixbut. At the end of 11 days, this cow had tripled 
its production of milk from 2 bottles to 6 bottles per day. 
In 1947, J. Ignacio Aguilar noted in southeastern Mexico that 
ixbut would increase milk yields in cows, when mixed with 
other cattle forage (15). He recommended mixing ixbut in small 
quantities — about 1.5 grams ixbut leaves per kilo of the cow's 
weight — in an aqueous solution to supplement other cattle 
feed in order to provide a balanced diet for dairy cows. He 
observed, however, that too much ixbut should not be fed to 
the cows: for a few days milk yields would increase substan- 
tially, but then gradually decrease as the animals’ physical 
condition deteriorated, possibly due to overstrain and exhaus- 
tion. 
According to Aguilar, ixbut is a galactagogue par excellence 
for dairy cows, superior to alfalfa and other tropical, legumin- 
ous forage plants. Ixbut is extremely vigorous and more resis- 
tant to plant diseases than alfalfa. For best results, ixbut should 
be planted in warm, shady, protected areas where there is 
285 
