Xenoestrogen

Xenoestrogens are a type of <a href="/facts/Xenohormone/xmGqnkTv">xenohormone</a> that imitates <a href="/facts/Estrogen/dPEewnDV">estrogen</a>. They can be either synthetic or natural <a href="/facts/Chemical_compound/37FXqqtv">chemical compounds</a>. Synthetic xenoestrogens include some widely used industrial compounds, such as <a href="/facts/Polychlorinated_biphenyls/R3sC5PEf">PCBs</a>, <a href="/facts/Bisphenol_A/8AAPhAh0">BPA</a>, and <a href="/facts/Phthalates/BGRhG1EC">phthalates</a>, which have estrogenic effects on a living organism even though they differ chemically from the estrogenic substances produced internally by the <a href="/facts/Endocrine_system/PDvN5cpj">endocrine system</a> of any organism. Natural xenoestrogens include <a href="/facts/Phytoestrogen/lsLPIK1k">phytoestrogens</a> which are plant-derived xenoestrogens. Because the primary route of exposure to these compounds is by consumption of phytoestrogenic plants, they are sometimes called "dietary estrogens". <a href="/facts/Mycoestrogen/MHo7fEJk">Mycoestrogens</a>, estrogenic substances from <a href="/facts/Fungus/BHo5DP59">fungi</a>, are another type of xenoestrogen that are also considered <a href="/facts/Mycotoxin/11dL2teq">mycotoxins</a>.
Xenoestrogens are clinically significant because they can mimic the effects of endogenous estrogen and thus have been implicated in <a href="/facts/Precocious_puberty/qUBb5nsD">precocious puberty</a> and other disorders of the reproductive system.
Xenoestrogens include pharmacological estrogens (in which estrogenic action is an intended effect, as in the drug <a href="/facts/Ethinylestradiol/aYRGLz8n">ethinylestradiol</a> used in <a href="/facts/Combined_oral_contraceptive_pill/Wudd4dH7">contraceptive pills</a>), but other chemicals may also have estrogenic effects. Xenoestrogens have been introduced into the environment by industrial, agricultural and chemical companies and consumers only in the last 70 years or so, but archiestrogens exist naturally. Some plants (like the cereals and the legumes) are using estrogenic substances possibly as part of their natural defence against <a href="/facts/Herbivore/me4YFdQA">herbivore</a> animals by controlling their fertility.
The potential ecological and human health impact of xenoestrogens is of growing concern. The word xenoestrogen is derived from the Greek words ξένο (xeno, meaning foreign), οἶστρος (estrus, meaning sexual desire) and γόνο (gene, meaning "to generate") and literally means "foreign <a href="/facts/Estrogen/dPEewnDV">estrogen</a>". Xenoestrogens are also called "environmental hormones" or "EDC" (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds, or <a href="/facts/Endocrine_disruptor/Yk2hfnTj">Endocrine disruptor</a> for short). Most scientists that study xenoestrogens, including <a href="/facts/The_Endocrine_Society/elmT4dVx">The Endocrine Society</a>, regard them as serious environmental hazards that have <a href="/facts/Endocrine_disruptor/Yk2hfnTj">hormone disruptive effects</a> on both wildlife and humans.

Xenoestrogen open-in-new

Xenoestrogen