Abstract: Putrescine, a kind of diamine, widely exists in animal body and food. Putrescine plays a series of physiological and pathological roles by the interaction with DNA, RNA, ligands and membrane proteins. The level of putrescine is increased in the reproductive organs during pregnancy. It has been showed that putrescine is closely related to spermatogenesis, sperm movement, follicular development and ovulation. The effects of putrescine in aging women are included as follows: the reduced aneuploidy rate, the improved ooplasm maturation and oocytes antioxidant function. Putrescine is also related to the function of early placenta and the development of embryos, fetuses and infants. It is true that the level of putrescine must be regulated by dynamic equilibrium. If the level of putrescine exceed the certain range, or imbalanced, putrescine will be harmful. Although putrescine has been tried in the assisted reproductive process of animals, its safety is not clear enough. This paper outlines the safty, pharmacokinetics, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of putrescine in the target organs, reproductive processes and embryo development, as a reference for the clinical trial of human natural and assisted reproduction in future.

Key words: Putrescine, Safety, Reproduction