Context: The Delhi High Court has ordered the Department of Drugs Control in Delhi to check weekly and make sure that any cases of fake Oxytocin being used or held are officially recorded under Section 12 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and Section 18(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
About Oxytocin:
- It is also known as the ‘love hormone’ or bonding hormone, is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus and secreted by the pituitary glands of mammals during sex, childbirth, lactation or social bonding.
- It acts both as a hormone and as a brain neurotransmitter. In the brain, where it acts as a neurotransmitter, oxytocin is involved in a variety of social behaviours, bonding, and emotional responses.
- It helps contract the uterus and induce delivery, control bleeding, and promote the release of breast milk. Its use is especially crucial to prevent new mothers from excessively bleeding after giving birth, a common cause of maternal deaths.
- It can also be chemically manufactured and is sold by pharma companies for use during childbirth. It is administered either as an injection or a nasal solution.
- It was banned in April 2018, saying that it was being misused on milch cattle to increase yield, which not only affects the health of the cattle but also humans who consumed the milk.
- It is also used to increase the size of vegetables such as pumpkins, watermelons, eggplants, gourds, and cucumbers.
