Sorry if this has been asked before!
In: Chemistry
A lot of it depends on what the hormone is and where it comes from. Levothyroxine (a synthetic thyroid hormone) is produced in labs and formed into pills with starches used as a binder, allowing for extremely precise dosing. Armour thyroid is made from drying out a pig’s thyroid gland, grinding it up, and forming the powder into tablets. This is far less precise and why it’s not recommended for medical purposes. Premarin (an estrogen given to symptomatic postmenopausal women) is extracted from the urine of a pregnant horse (PREgnant MARe urINe).
Basically, you need a way to cheaply and reliably produce a large quantity, in a way that’s easy to purify and extract, and a way to stabilize it. Some either can’t be absorbed or are neutralized by stomach acid, so have to be administered in non-oral routes. Sex hormones are fat-soluble, so things like testosterone or progesterone shots are dissolved in a neutral oil. Insulin can’t survive the low pH and is given as a shot. Thyroid hormone is perfectly fine given orally. There’s a lot of variables involved, but hopefully this helps.
Source: am physician
Edit: darn autocorrect
They’re not always extracted. At least, not any more.
Adrenaline, for example, was first extracted and used in research more than 100 years ago. Initially, it was extracted from donors, cadavers and even animals. But today, adrenaline, like most hormones, is synthesized in a lab. It was extracted, but when the chemical composition was discovered, it can be made out of other chemicals (which themselves are synthesized in more or less the same way).
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