Antioxidant potential of specific estrogens on lipid peroxidation.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in postmenopause. Estrogen administration in postmenopause lowers the risk of CHD by 50%. A variety of estrogen preparations are currently used in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy. It is unknown, however, if structural differences in the estrogen molecule influence the cardioprotective effects of estrogens. In this communication we have shown that equine estrogens (especially equilin) exhibit higher antioxidant potency (as measured by fatty acids and sterols oxidation) when compared to estrone and estradiol-17 beta.