Endocrine Abstracts

Until recently, the concept that exogenous chemicals could possess hormonal properties was restricted to consideration of the estrogenicity of phytoestrogens and a few synthetic chemicals, effects first recognized in the 1930s. The picture has now enlarged considerably, and in the process, become more complex. Anti-androgens and biochemical inhibitors have been added to the list of hormonally active synthetic and natural products, and molecular approaches have enabled fundamental questions to be asked and answered. Perhaps the most complicating finding has been the realisation that chemicals may have several independent hormonal properties. Thus, the phytoestrogen biochanin-A is now known to act as an estrogen at high doses and as an aromatase inhibitor at lower doses, and recent data indicate that the phytoestrogen equol appears to be more active as an anti-androgen than it is as an estrogen. The other major complicating factor is the changes in diet that have occurred over the past 50 years. These changes include alterations in the proportion of vegetables eaten (thus varying phytoestrogen intakes) and increase in meat/fat consumption (which can affect developmental parameters). The overview will attempt to indicate the extent to which hormones in natural products can influence human sexual development and health status.