The female flowers of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are used in the brewing of beer and are under investigation for use in dietary supplements for the management of menopausal symptoms in women. Hop extracts contain the weakly estrogenic compound isoxanthohumol (IX), proestrogenic xanthohumol, and the potent estrogen 8-prenylnaringenin (8PN). Because IX can be metabolized in the human liver to form...

The toxicity and estrogenicity of a final treated municipal effluent was examined while flowing through a constructed wetland in north-central Texas, USA. Fish data were collected, and a baseline wetland characterization was performed to assess wetland treatment potential for these effluent properties. Vitellogenin (VTG), gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and secondary sexua...

The leachate of a municipal waste landfill was tested for estrogenic activity using a reporter-gene-based bioassay with a human breast-cancer-derived cell line (MVLN cells). The leachate was processed with two different membrane-employing processes operating in parallel. One process consists of aerobic biological degradation, ultrafiltration, and subsequent adsorption to activated carbon. The s...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that affects women more frequently than men. In the (NZB times NZW)F1 mouse, a murine SLE model, the presence or absence of estrogen markedly influences the rate of progression of disease. Three organochlorine pesticides with estrogenic effects were administered chronically to ovariectomized female (NZB times NZW)F1 mice, and we measu...

In the present study, the yeast estrogen screen (YES) has been used to assess the estrogenic activity in surface waters of a coastal region in the German Baltic Sea. Solid-phase extraction using the copolymer Oasis HLB followed by a clean-up on silica was carried out on approximately 50-l water samples. From the final 400 microl extract volume, 100 microl aliquots were used for the measurement ...

In vitro assays are broadly used tools to evaluate the estrogenic activity in Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) effluents and their receiving rivers. Since potencies of individual estrogens to induce in vitro and in vivo responses can differ it is not possible to directly evaluate risks based on in vitro measures of estrogenic activity. Estrone, 17beta-estradiol, 17alfa-ethinylestradiol and to...

Extracts of sediments from rivers in an industrialized area in the Czech Republic were used to evaluate suitability of a simple in vitro bioassay system to detect estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated activity in the complex mixture. Total estrogenic activity was detected by measuring luciferase activity in a stably transfected cell line containing an estrogen-responsive element linked to a luciferas...