Salivary progesterone as an index of the luteal function.

Salivary progesterone (SP) is proposed as a useful index for estimation of luteal function. In 32 normal luteal phases with in-phase endometrial biopsies, the luteal SP assayed three times between 11 and 4 days before menses correlated significantly with the matched plasma P (PP) values and the ratio of SP to PP X 100 = 1.02. In 19 disharmonic luteal phases, a syndrome characterized by retarded endometrial development and apparently normal corpus luteum function, SP and PP were both in the normal range. In five conception cycles, SP and PP correlated significantly and increased during the evolution of the corpus luteum of pregnancy. In four cycles of luteal insufficiency, P concentrations were lower than normal in saliva as well as in plasma.