The potential health effects of dietary phytoestrogens

Abstract

Phytoestrogens are plant‐derived dietary compounds with structural similarity to 17‐β‐oestradiol (E2), the primary female sex hormone. This structural similarity to E2 enables phytoestrogens to cause (anti)oestrogenic effects by binding to the oestrogen receptors. The aim of the present review is to present a state‐of‐the‐art overview of the potential health effects of dietary phytoestrogens. Various beneficial health effects have been ascribed to phytoestrogens, such as a lowered risk of menopausal symptoms like hot flushes and osteoporosis, lowered risks of cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, brain function disorders, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer and other cancers. In contrast to these beneficial health claims, the (anti)oestrogenic properties of phytoestrogens have also raised concerns since they might act as endocrine disruptors, indicating a potential to cause adverse health effects. The literature overview presented in this paper illustrates that several potential health benefits of phytoestrogens have been reported but that, given the data on potential adverse health effects, the current evidence on these beneficial health effects is not so obvious that they clearly outweigh the possible health risks. Furthermore, the data currently available are not sufficient to support a more refined (semi) quantitative risk–benefit analysis. This implies that a definite conclusion on possible beneficial health effects of phytoestrogens cannot be made.Linked ArticlesThis article is part of a themed section on Principles of Pharmacological Research of Nutraceuticals. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.11/issuetoc

Recent progress in the use of functional foods for older adults: A narrative review

“…There is still controversy related to benefits of isoflavones and other phytoestrogens intake (Andres, Abraham, Appel, & Lampen, ), because they may disrupt in the endocrine system causing adverse health effects (Rietjens et al., ). European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published data indicating that intake of isoflavones from food supplements by menopausal and postmenopausal women might be associated with negative effects for uterus, the mammary glands, and thyroid.…”

A hormonális rendszer válsága: az endokrin diszruptorok egészségügyi hatásai

“…Előbbiek kiemelkedő (leginkább tanulmányozott) képviselője a mű-anyagiparban rendszeresen felhasznált bisphenol A (BPA), míg utóbbiakat a vinclozolin, egy pesticid reprezentálja leginkább. Vannak úgynevezett jóindulatú ED-k, például a szójafitoösztrogének (genistein, daidzein), amelyek csökkentik az osteoporosis, szívbetegségek, emlőrák kockázatát és a menopauzális szimptómát, ugyanakkor káros hatásaik is ismertek [25][26][27].…”

Potential of phytochemicals in breast cancer prevention and therapy

“…The published review articles highlight the potential of green tea and phytoestrogens in breast cancer prevention (Anandhi Senthilkumar, Fata, & Kennelly, ; Najaf Najafi, Salehi, Ghazanfarpour, Hoseini, & Khadem‐Rezaiyan, ; Xiao, Zhang, Tong, & Shi, ). Similarly, there is evidence in the literature that the consumption of both green tea and phytoestrogens‐containing vegetables could be correlated with a low incidence of other chronic pathologies, such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (Peluso & Serafini, ; Andrew & Izzo, ; Rietjens, Louisse, & Beekmann, ; Bedrood, Rameshrad, & Hosseinzadeh, ;).…”