Epidemiologic and experimental studies support the hypothesis that dietary estrogens from plant sources (phytoestrogens) may play a role in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer. The molecular mechanisms for such chemopreventive effect are still unclear. We investigated the possibility that phytoestrogens may bind differentially to estrogen receptor proteins (ER[alpha] and ERss) and affe...

in this study, 54 five-year-old farmed female beluga at stage ii of sexual maturation were treated with 0 (control), 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 g of dietary soy equol (eq) and genistein (ge) per each kilogram (kg) of diet during a year. blood samples were collected and ovarian biopsy was performed quarterly. results showed that 64.4% of the huso huso sexually matured at eq 0.4 g/kg and reached stage...

Phytoestrogens, phthalates, and phenols are estrogen-disrupting chemicals that have a pronounced effect at puberty. They are exogenous chemicals that are either plant-derived or man-made, and can alter the functions of the endocrine system and cause various health defects by interfering with the synthesis, metabolism, binding, or cellular responses of natural estrogens. Phytoestrogens, phthalat...

BACKGROUND Several secondary metabolites from herbal nutrient products act as weak estrogens (phytoestrogens), competing with endogenous estrogen for binding to the estrogen receptors and inhibiting steroid converting enzymes. However, it is still unclear whether these compounds elicit estrogen dependent transcription of genes at physiological concentrations. METHODS We compare the effects of...

Endocrine disruptors can affect the endocrine system without directly interacting with receptors, for example, by interfering with the synthesis or metabolism of steroid hormones. The aromatase that converts testosterone to 17beta-estradiol is a possible target. In this paper we describe an assay that simultaneously detects aromatase inhibition and estrogenicity. The principle is similar to tha...

CONTEXT Despite lung-specific in vitro and in vivo studies that support a chemopreventive role for phytoestrogens, there has been little epidemiologic research focused on dietary intake of phytoestrogens and risk of lung cancer. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between dietary intake of phytoestrogens and risk of lung cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Ongoing US case-control st...

Phytoestrogens, plant-derived nonsteroidal estrogens found in high abundance in most soy food products, have been studied for their potential beneficial effects against hormone-dependent cancers and age-related diseases. However, little is known about the influence of phytoestrogens on the brain or behavior. This brief review describes mainly our own studies in rodents that have examined the in...

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived estrogen-like compounds that are increasingly used for their suggested health promoting properties, even by healthy, young women. However, scientific concerns exist regarding potential adverse effects on female reproduction. In this study, naringenin (NAR), 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN), genistein (GEN), coumestrol (COU), quercetin (QUE) and resveratrol (RSV) up-reg...

Phytoestrogens represent a family of plant compounds such as isoflavones, flavones and lignans. A wide range of commonly consumed foods contains appreciable amounts of different phytoestrogens such as isoflavones and lignans. Soy and its products are particularly good sources of isoflavones and lignans. The evidence reviewed here represents the beneficial effects of most potential and promising...

Phytoestrogens represent a family of plant compounds such as isoflavones, flavones and lignans. A variety of these plant compounds have been identified in various human body fluids. A wide range of commonly consumed foods contains appreciable amounts of these different phytoestrogens, viz. soy products are particularly good sources of isoflavones and lignans. Accumulating evidences from molecul...