The primary induced isoflavones in soybean, the glyceollins, have been shown to be potent estrogen antagonists in vitro and in vivo. The discovery of the glyceollins' ability to inhibit cancer cell proliferation has led to the analysis of estrogenic activities of other induced isoflavones. In this study, we investigated a novel isoflavone, glycinol, a precursor to glyceollin that is produced in...

Eucalyptus bleached kraft pulp production, an important sector of the Brazilian national economy, is responsible for generating large volume, high pollutant load effluents, containing a considerable fraction of recalcitrant organic matter. The objectives of this study were to quantify the biological activity of the effluent from a eucalyptus bleached kraft pulp mill, characterize the nature of ...

BACKGROUND Japanese herbal medicines can be used as alternatives to estrogen therapy and are sometimes prescribed for menopausal syndrome because they have fewer side effects and are associated with better compliance than estrogen therapy, but little is known about the pharmacological mechanisms of such treatments. This study aimed to explore the mechanisms responsible for the estrogen-like eff...

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...

Fish muscle extracts from ten European mountain lakes were analyzed for organochlorine compounds (OCs) and estrogenic activity, the latter by a recombinant yeast assay based on the human estrogen receptor. Seventy percent of the samples showed estrogenic activity above detection limits and a subset of five samples showed estrogenic activities, equivalent to more than 10,000 pg/g of estradiol. T...

Interpreting results of studies that report only negative effects is problematic. A number of published studies to determine whether chemicals with estrogenic activity can cause effects at low doses have not taken into account the possibility that the commercial animal feed being used can mask effects of even potent estrogenic drugs such as diethylstilbestrol (DES). In addition, the sensitivity...

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...

The wide chemical diversity of estrogenic compounds precludes an accurate prediction of estrogenic activity on the basis of chemical structure or radioimmunological assay and thus requires that the potency of these compounds is defined by bioassay. The mammary duct growth response in intact prepubertal and adult gonadectomized female and male mice of the C3H/Di strain was used to assess the est...

Zearalenone (ZEA) and its derivatives are mycotoxins with estrogenic effects on mammals. The biotransformation for ZEA in animals involves the formation of two major metabolites, α- and β-zearalenol (α-ZOL and β-ZOL), which are subsequently conjugated with glucuronic acid. The capability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from silage to eliminate ZEA and its derivatives α-ZOL and β-ZO...

Anaerobic lagoons and treatment wetlands are used worldwide to treat wastewater from dense livestock production facilities; however, there is very limited data on the hormonal activity of the wastewater effluent produced by these treatment systems. The objectives of this experiment were to measure (1) the hormonal activity of the initial effluent and (2) the effectiveness of a lagoon-constructe...