Piotr P. Wieczorek
Division of Analytical and Ecological Chemistry, Opole University
Email: Piotr.Wieczorek@uni.opole.pl
Estrogens and xenoestrogens as emerging environmental contaminants
In the environment exists many emerging contaminants which effects of both wildlife and humans. Recently, many reports that described the occurrence of chemicals that are responsible for disrupting the endocrine system of living animals (especially water organisms) have been published in recent year’s. A large number of chemicals have been identified as endocrine disruptors of and humans can be exposed to them either due to their occupations or through dietary and environmental exposure.
An Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) has been defined by the European Commission and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an agent that interferes with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, or elimination of natural hormones in the body that are responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis, reproduction, some cancer diseases, development and/or behaviour. EDCs are chemicals, or chemical mixtures, that interfere with hormone function and usually acts in very low concentrations.
The presentation gives an extensive overview of the various type of Endocrinologically Active Compounds. This compounds can be classified in two categories, those that occur naturally and those that are synthesized. In the first group we can find natural chemicals from human and animal food, like phytoestrogens (daidzein, genistein, coumestrol, or stilbens), mikoestrogens (e.g. zearalenon) and natural steroid hormones. The second group is much larger and include chloroorganic compounds (polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins), plastics, plasticizers, pesticides (e.g. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT, atrazine) fungicides, artificial hormones (e.g. contraceptive pills, thyroid medicines), drugs with hormonal side effect (e.g. naproxen, metoprolol, clifobrate) industrial and household chemicals (e.g. phthalates, alkylphenoletoxilate detergents, fire retardants, solvents), cosmetic additives (parabens), some metals (Cr, Cd, Ni) and many other compounds.