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A systematic survey of polycyclic phenols has been performed to identify members of this chemical group with estrogenic activity. Twelve compounds were found to be able to stimulate the transcriptional activity of the human estrogen receptor expressed in cultured cells by transient transfection. These natural estrogens belong to several distinct, but chemically related classes including chalcones, flavanones, flavones, flavonols, and isoflavones. Selected examples of estrogenic flavonoids were further analyzed to determine their biological potencies and their relative affinities for binding to the estrogen receptor. These data are interpreted with respect to the molecular structure of polycyclic phenols required for hormonal activity as nonsteroidal estrogens.
Richard J. Miksicek (Sun,) studied this question.