Phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens: The contribution of diet and environment to endocrine disruption

The E-screen test and the MELN gene-reporter assay used for determination of estrogenic activity in fruits and vegetables in relation to pesticide residues

“…It has been shown that the levels of phytoestrogens in human diets tend to be much higher than the levels of synthetic endocrine-active chemicals (Franke et al, 1998;Irvine et al, 1998;Waring et al, 2008). However, despite the small number of samples analyzed, we found a correlation between the estrogenicity of fruits and vegetables and the total concentration of pesticide residues, with no correlation between EEQs and the endogenous phytoestrogen concentration.…”

Endocrine disrupting activity in fruits and vegetables evaluated with the E-screen assay in relation to pesticide residues

“…However, the wide range of possible endocrine-disrupting pathways means that it is difficult to estimate the overall sum of natural (e.g., phytoestrogens-caused) and anthropogenic (e.g., pesticides-caused) influences. In particular, compounds that do not act at the same point in these pathways do not necessarily have additive effects [34]. Indeed, we found little or no correlation between the estrogenicity of food samples and either the total concentration of pesticide residues or phytoestrogen concentration.…”

“…In view of the suggested adverse effects of estrogenic chemicals on human and animal health it is important for the risk assessment process to establish the effects of interactions that may result from mixture of these "dietary" chemicals [26,33]. The wide range of possible endocrine-disrupting pathways means that it is difficult to estimate the total sum of dietary (e.g., phytoestrogens-related) and environmental (e.g., pesticides-related) influences, particularly because compounds that do not act at the same point in a particular pathway do not necessarily have additive effects [34].…”

Diet and individuality in detoxification

“…In a small pilot study with women 'at risk' of breast cancer, they were shown to respond to a soy diet (500 ml soy milk/day for 7 days) by, on average, reducing excretion of daidzein sulfate and genistein sulfate although all other parameters were not significantly different from those of controls. Sulfation in the controls was unchanged [20]. As often in experiments with human subjects, the groups were not distinct as not all of the women 'at risk' would go on to develop breast cancer.…”