Assessment of estrogenic activity in some common essential oil constituents

Howes, M.-J.R.; Houghton, Peter J.; Barlow, David J.; Pocock, Victoria; Milligan, S. R.

doi:10.1211/002235702216

Cited by 108 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Using the same assay the sandalwood odorants of our present study did not elicit any detectable responses on mOR-EG activation. The mOR-EGspecific ligand eugenol, on the other hand, although capable of displacing radioactively labeled E2 from the purified ER, did not show any detectable estrogenic or anti-estrogenic activities in a cellular reporter gene assay (60).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Dual Activities of Odorants on Olfactory and Nuclear Hormone Receptors

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Etter

Baud

et al. 2009

Journal of Biological Chemistry

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We have screened an odorant compound library and discovered molecules acting as chemical signals that specifically activate both G-protein-coupled olfactory receptors (ORs) on the cell surface of olfactory sensory neurons and the human nuclear estrogen receptor ␣ (ER) involved in transcriptional regulation of cellular differentiation and proliferation in a wide variety of tissues. Hence, these apparent dual active odorants induce distinct signal transduction pathways at different subcellular localizations, which affect both neuronal signaling, resulting in odor perception, and the ER-dependent transcriptional control of specific genes. We demonstrate these effects using fluorescence-based in vitro and cellular assays. Among these odorants, we have identified synthetic sandalwood compounds, an important class of molecules used in the fragrance industry. For one estrogenic odorant we have also identified the cognate OR. This prompted us to compare basic molecular recognition principles of odorants on the two structurally and apparent functionally non-related receptors using computational modeling in combination with functional assays. Faced with the increasing evidence that ORs may perform chemosensory functions in a number of tissues outside of the nasal olfactory epithelium, the unraveling of these molecular ligand-receptor interaction principles is of critical importance. In addition the evidence that certain olfactory sensory neurons naturally co-express ORs and ERs may provide a direct functional link between the olfactory and hormonal systems in humans. Our results are therefore useful for defining the structural and functional characteristics of ER-specific odorants and the role of odorant molecules in cellular processes other than olfaction.Our nose detects a large variety of odorant signals relying on about 350 different predicted G-protein-coupled olfactory receptors (ORs) 3 with a conserved seven-transmembrane helical structure (1-3). By binding odorant molecules ORs modulate the conversion of chemical into electrical neuronal signals that are finally decoded in higher brain regions to trigger emotional and behavioral responses (4 -6). Odorants are generally small, hydrophobic organic molecules with highly variable chemical structures and properties (7). They easily pass cell membranes, and, due to their enormous chemical diversity, some of them might, apart from their "conventional" role in olfaction, trigger also yet unknown cellular processes. The role of specific ORs in sperm chemotaxis has been documented (8,9), and the widespread ectopic expression of OR genes in a large number of non-olfactory human tissues implicates additional, unproven functions of ORs in embryonic development and cell-cell recognition (10), and proliferation rates in prostate cancer cells (11). Recent findings indicate that ORs might also have chemosensory functions in kidney (12). Although most present efforts concentrate on matching odorants with their cognate ORs to define their molecular receptive ranges and receptor fu...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Dual Activities of Odorants on Olfactory and Nuclear Hormone Receptors

Pick

Etter

Baud

et al. 2009

Journal of Biological Chemistry

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“…Citra i.e., the combination of geraniol, nerol and eugenol were effective in replacing [ 3 H]17b-estradiol from the estrogen receptors in recombinant yeast cells [103,104] .…”

Section: Hormonal Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Essential oils used in aromatherapy: A systemic review

Ali

Al-Wabel

Shams³

et al. 2015

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine

870

476

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A B S T R A C TNowadays, use of alternative and complementary therapies with mainstream medicine has gained the momentum. Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies which use essential oils as the major therapeutic agents to treat several diseases. The essential or volatile oils are extracted from the flowers, barks, stem, leaves, roots, fruits and other parts of the plant by various methods. It came into existence after the scientists deciphered the antiseptic and skin permeability properties of essential oils. Inhalation, local application and baths are the major methods used in aromatherapy that utilize these oils to penetrate the human skin surface with marked aura. Once the oils are in the system, they remodulate themselves and work in a friendly manner at the site of malfunction or at the affected area. This type of therapy utilizes various permutation and combinations to get relief from numerous ailments like depression, indigestion, headache, insomnia, muscular pain, respiratory problems, skin ailments, swollen joints, urine associated complications etc. The essential oils are found to be more beneficial when other aspects of life and diet are given due consideration. This review explores the information available in the literature regarding therapeutic, medical, cosmetic, psychological, olfactory, massage aromatherapy, safety issues and different plants used in aromatherapy.

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“…Six species used traditionally in Malaysia for treatment of cancer were investigated for these two effects as well as for cytotoxicity on several cell lines (Lee and Houghton, 2005). The oestrogen receptor binding studies were carried out using genetically modified yeast cells to express ␤-galactosidase (Howes et al, 2002). None of the extracts showed any activity when compared to standard 17␤-oestradiol except the methanol and dichloromethane extracts of Tabernaemontana divarica root, which gave EC 50 values of 190.0 ± 1.0 and 180 ± 3.0 g/mL, respectively.…”

Section: Plant Extractmentioning

confidence: 99%