Estrogen and Progestin Bioactivity of Foods, Herbs, and Spices

Abstract

In this study we report on the content and bioactivity of plant (phyto) estrogens and progestins in various foods, herbs, and spices, before and after human consumption. Over 150 herbs traditionally used by herbalists for treating a variety of health problems were extracted and tested for their relative capacity to compete with estradiol and progesterone binding to intracellular receptors for progesterone (PR) and estradiol (ER) in intact human breast cancer cells. The six highest ER-binding herbs that are commonly consumed were soy, licorice, red clover, thyme, tumeric, hops, and verbena. The six highest PR-binding herbs and spices commonly consumed were oregano, verbena, tumeric, thyme, red clover and damiana. Some of the herbs and spices found to contain high phytoestrogens and phytoprogestins were further tested for bioactivity based on their ability to regulate cell growth rate in ER (+) and ER (-) breast cancer cell lines and to induce or inhibit the synthesis of alkaline phosphatase, an end product of progesterone action, in PR (+) cells. In general, we found that ER-binding herbal extracts were agonists, much like estradiol, whereas PR-binding extracts, were neutral or antagonists. The bioavailability of phytoestrogens and phytoprogestins in vivo were studied by quantitating the ER-binding and PR-binding capacity of saliva following consumption of soy milk, exogenous progesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, or wild mexican yam products containing diosgenin. Soy milk caused a dramatic increase in saliva ER-binding components without a concomitant rise in estradiol. Consumption of PR-binding herbs increased the progestin activity of saliva, but there were marked differences in bioactivity. In summary, we have demonstrated that many of the commonly consumed foods, herbs, and spices contain phytoestrogens and phytoprogestins that act as agonists and antagonists in vivo.

Black Cohosh and Breast Cancer

“…14,47 Several recent studies have shown a lack of estrogenic activity as mediated through the ER by black cohosh, 14,[48][49][50] whereas others show outright antagonism of estrogen-induced activities, including the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells and estradiol-induced gene expression. 51 These findings may collectively be due to differences in the ability of black cohosh to activate ER-α compared with ER-β.ER-α is the classical ER, distributed in the uterine and other estrogen sensitive tissues where it exerts proliferative effects, whereas ER-β has been associated with antiproliferative effects and modulates the responsiveness of target tissues to estradiol.…”

Critical evaluation of the safety of Cimicifuga racemosa in menopause symptom relief

“…Studies using estrogen or progesterone receptorpositive human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, MDA-MB-435S, and T-47D [66][67][68][69] and various in vitro assays 70 demonstrate that Cimicifuga extracts do not induce estrogenic effects on breast tissue or mammary tumors. In fact, these studies show a consistent inhibitory effect of the isopropanolic Cimicifuga extract on estrogen receptor-positive cancer cells.…”

Influence of flaxseed combined with thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves asfodder additives on antioxidant status in the liver of Japanese quail

“…Other herbal supplements in this study also contain polyphenols and flavonoids that are potential antagonists to endogenous estrogen (25). Similar FRAP for both sexes in most of the analyzed groups may be related to the effect of substances contained in herbs on the hormonal changes in the tested quails.…”