Tarragó-Castellanos C Rosario, García-Lorenzana C Mario, Diaz-Sánchez Vicente, Velázquez-Moctezuma Javier
Department of Biology of Reproduction, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, CP 09340, México City, Mexico.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2006 Aug;27(4):487-92.
Phytoestrogens are a wide variety of chemical compounds, mainly isoflavonoids, from a vegetable source. Their name makes reference to their ability to induce estrogenic responses in mammals. Coumestrol is a phytoestrogen that can be found in high concentrations in the dietary elements of cattle. Some endocrine alterations have been reported for cows and ewes after ingestion of vegetables with high concentrations of coumestrol. However, these studies have been made mainly in females.
To analyze some features of the masculine endocrine response in rats after several doses of the phytoestrogen coumestrol.
Adult male rats were injected with several doses of coumestrol. Plasma gonadotrophins (LH/FSH) and testosterone levels were assessed. In addition, morphology of the testicles was analyzed.
Experiments were done in the facilities of the neurosciences area at the University.
No significant changes were observed in gonadotrophin levels after the administration of coumestrol. Testosterone levels showed a significant decrease with the higher doses. Morphological analysis showed an inhibitory effect on spermatogenesis expressed mainly in the right testicle. Testicular volume decreased and the tubular area increased significantly after coumestrol treatment.
These results suggest that the endocrine effect of coumestrol is mainly expressed in peripheral targets in male rats. In addition, the possible mediation of estrogen beta receptors is discussed.
植物雌激素是多种主要来源于蔬菜的化合物，主要为异黄酮类。其名称源于它们在哺乳动物体内引发雌激素反应的能力。香豆雌酚是一种植物雌激素，在牛的饮食成分中含量很高。据报道，母牛和母羊摄入高浓度香豆雌酚的蔬菜后会出现一些内分泌改变。然而，这些研究主要针对雌性动物。
分析给予大鼠不同剂量植物雌激素香豆雌酚后雄性内分泌反应的一些特征。
给成年雄性大鼠注射不同剂量的香豆雌酚。评估血浆促性腺激素（LH/FSH）和睾酮水平。此外，分析睾丸的形态。
实验在大学神经科学领域的设施中进行。
给予香豆雌酚后，促性腺激素水平未观察到显著变化。高剂量时睾酮水平显著降低。形态学分析显示对精子发生有抑制作用，主要表现在右侧睾丸。香豆雌酚处理后睾丸体积减小，管腔面积显著增加。
这些结果表明，香豆雌酚的内分泌作用主要在雄性大鼠的外周靶器官中表现出来。此外，还讨论了雌激素β受体可能的介导作用。
