The Estrogenic Activity of Alfalfa and other Feedstuffs

Pieterse, P. J. S.; Andrews, F. N.

doi:10.2527/jas1956.15125x

Cited by 44 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…and T. lappaceum L. (11). Biological experiments indicated that red clover feed increased uterine weight in immature (12,13) and ovariectomized (14) mice, and that the leaves were more potent than the flower heads (15). However, the relative estrogenic potency of red clover plant organs remains unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variation of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae) Isoflavones and Estrogenic Activity

Booth

Overk

Yao

et al. 2006

J. Agric. Food Chem.

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae) dietary supplements are currently used to treat menopausal symptoms because of their high content of the mildly estrogenic isoflavones daidzein, genistein, formononetin and biochanin A. These compounds are estrogenic in vitro and in vivo, but little information exists on the best time to harvest red clover fields to maximize content of the isoflavones and thus make an optimal product. Samples of cultivated red clover aboveground parts and flower heads were collected in parallel over one growing season in northeastern Illinois. Generally, autohydrolytic extracts of aboveground parts contained more isoflavones and had more estrogenic activity in Ishikawa endometrial cells, compared with extracts of flower heads. Daidzein and genistein content peaked around June to July, while formononetin and biochanin A content peaked in early September. Flower head and total aboveground parts extracts exhibited differential estrogenic activity in an Ishikawa (endometrial) cell-based alkaline phosphatase (AP) induction assay, whereas nondifferential activity was observed for most extracts tested in an MCF-7 (breast) cell proliferation assay when tested at the same final concentrations. Ishikawa assay results could be mapped onto the extracts' content of individual isoflavones, but MCF-7 results did not show such a pattern. These results suggest that significant metabolism of isoflavones may occur in MCF-7 cells, but not in Ishikawa cells, and therefore caution is advised in the choice of bioassay used for the biological standardization of botanical dietary supplements.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variation of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae) Isoflavones and Estrogenic Activity

Booth

Overk

Yao

et al. 2006

J. Agric. Food Chem.

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Further studies by other workers in the United States (Cheng, 1953;Pieterse and Andrews, 1956) confirm that both alfalfa and ladino clover frequently contain substantial levels of estrogens. These studies suggest that inaccurate conclusions may be made regarding the estrogenic activity of a particular variety or species of forage plant because of seasonal and other factors that affect the estrogen level in the plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Forage plant estrogens

Livingston

1978

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forage plant estrogens occur at high levels in certain forage species. Such levels are responsible for reproductive and other effects in animals. Current progress regarding the chemical, metabolic, and biological effects, as well as occurrence of the several naturally occurring forage estrogens, is described. Forage estrogens occur as natural plant responses to foliar and other plant diseases. Their potency in animals is approximately 1/1000 to 1/10,000 that of the principal animal hormones such as estradiol. Coumestans and isoflavones comprise the two principal classes of forage estrogens, with coumestrol and genistein being the most potent and predominant of each class. Only very low levels of the coumestans occurred in alfalfa leaf protein concentrates prepared at alkaline pH.

show abstract

“…The oestrogenic activity of lucerne a:t different stages of growth has been shown by Pieterse and Andrews (1956) to be very variable, while Stab et al (1957) demonstrated a very wide range of potency in different strains of lucerne. However, it would appear tha't, generally, lucerne is lower in oestrogens that ladino clover and red dover.…”

Section: Nzmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reproductive performance of ewes mated on lucerne

Coop¹,

Clark²

1960

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryTrials were conducted to make a comparison between the reproductive performances of ewes de-pastured during mating on lucerne, on the one hand, and on rye-grass-white clover, on the other. In general, the lucerne was grown on thinner soils than was the pasture.These trials showed that, under the soil and climatic conditions operating, reproduction was depressed by lucerne relative to grass to the extent of:(1) a retardation in rate of conception of the order of 10%-15% fewer ewes settling during the first 17 days of mating and a 4-5 day retardation of mean lambing date;(2) a decrease in the number of twins born of the order of 10%, and an increase in barrenness of 1 %-2%, giving an overall reduction in lambing percentage of 10%-12O/C.Although the factor in the lucerne responsible for these effects was not identified, it is presumed to be the presence of one or more oestrogens; a deficiency of selenium is suggested as another possible causative factor.

show abstract

The Estrogenic Activity of Alfalfa and other Feedstuffs

Cited by 44 publications

References 0 publications

Seasonal Variation of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae) Isoflavones and Estrogenic Activity

Seasonal Variation of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae) Isoflavones and Estrogenic Activity

Forage plant estrogens

The reproductive performance of ewes mated on lucerne

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About