Abstract
In this study, we investigated the estrogenic activity of environmental estrogens by a competition binding assay using a human recombinant estrogens receptor (hERβ) and by a proliferation assay using MCF-7 cells and a sulforhodamine-B assay. In the binding assay, pharmaceuticals had a stronger binding activity to hERβ than that of some phytoestrogens (coumestrol, daidzein, genistein, luteolin, chrysin, flavone, and naringenin) or industrial chemicals, but phytoestrogens such as coumestrol had a binding activity as strong as pharmaceuticals such as 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE), tamoxifen (Tam), and mestranol. In the proliferation assay, pharmaceuticals such as diethylstilbestrol, EE, Tam, and clomiphene, and industrial chemicals such as 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and 4-dihydroxybiphenyl had a proliferation- stimulating activity as strong as 17β-estradiol (ES). In addition, we found that phytoestrogens such as coumestrol, daidzein, luteolin, and quercetin exerted a proliferation stimulating activity as strong as ES. Furthermore, we examined the suppression of proliferation-stimulating activity, induced by environmental estrogen, by flavonoids, such as daidzein, genistein, quercetin, and luteolin, and found that these flavonoids suppressed the induction of the proliferation-stimulating activity of environmental estrogens. The suppressive effect of flavonoids suggests that these compounds have anti-estrogenic and anti-cancer activities.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1479-1487 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry |
Volume | 66 |
Issue number | 7 |
State | Published - Jul 2002 |
Keywords
- 17β-estradiol
- Environmental estrogens
- Flavonoids
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Chemistry (miscellaneous)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Biochemistry
- Biotechnology
- Bioengineering