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Data on the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of chaga (Inonotus obliquus) are reviewed. The possible mechanisms of action and factors responsible for the discrepancy of data available in the literature are discussed. The physical and chemical characteristics of melanin (polyphenolic chromogenic humin-like complex present in chaga) and its role in the regulation of physiological processes are considered.

The gestagen activity of a new synthetic progesterone derivative, 17α-acetoxy-3β-butanoiloxy-6-methylpregna-4,6-dien-20-one (ABMP) has been studied in rabbits (Clauberg - McPhail test) and in rats (test for the ABMP influence on the progesterone level in blood and on the endometrium morphology). The gestagen activity of ABMP is more pronounced than that of reference drugs (progesterone, levonorgestrel, acetomepregenol). ABMP transforms the endometrium of experimental animals from proliferative to secretory phase and reduces mitotic activity of endometrium in rats. ABMP reduces progesterone level in the rat blood to a lower degree than do the reference drugs. ABMP exhibits no anabolic and androgenic activity in the Hershberger test in rats.

An important current problem in modern biochemical pharmacology consists in determining the parameters of relationships between doses and effects of various drugs. This task has been solved within the framework of various theories developed by Clark (1926), Stephenson (1956), Carlin (1957), Paton (1961), Ariens (1979), etc., which were considered in detail elsewhere [1]. Using these theories, it is possible to describe the kinetics of ligand – receptor interactions representing a primary stage in the process of the cell response formation