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Categorization of Chemical Substances
Published in T.S.S. Dikshith, and Safety, 2016
Endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs): Endocrine disruptors are also called endocrine modulators, environmental hormones, and endocrine active compounds. The endocrine system is one of the body’s main communication networks and is responsible for controlling and coordinating numerous body functions. Hormones are first produced by the endocrine tissues, such as the ovaries, testes, pituitary, thyroid, and pancreas, and then secreted in the blood to act as the body’s chemical messengers, where they direct communication and coordination among other tissues throughout the body. The EDCs are known to interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in animals and humans. A wide range of chemical substances, both natural and man-made, have been identified as endocrine disruptors. These include, but are not limited to, pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and plasticizers such as bisphenol A. Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products, including plastic bottles, metal food cans, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides, causing developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) supports studies to determine whether exposure to endocrine disruptors may result in adverse human health effects, including lowered fertility and an increased incidence of endometriosis and some cancers. Research shows that endocrine disruptors may pose the greatest risk during prenatal and early postnatal development when organ and neural systems are forming. Although limited scientific information is available on the potential adverse human health effects, concern arises because endocrine disrupting chemicals, while present in the environment at very low levels, have been shown to have adverse health effects. The difficulty of assessing the public health effects due to EDCs is further increased because people are typically exposed to multiple chemical substances directly or indirectly. The NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) support research to understand how these chemical substances work and the effects that they may have in various animal and human populations with the long-term goal of developing prevention and intervention strategies to reduce possible adverse health effects.
Investigation of the binding interactions between 17α-ethinylestradiol with bovine serum albumin by multispectroscopy
Published in Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2020
Jiali Gu, Lu Liu, Siyao Zheng, Gang Yang, Qian He, Xiyao Huang, Cheng Guo
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), also known as environmental hormone, are hormonally active xenobiotics,[1] that can mimic hormones or interfere with the action of endogenous hormones. Once incorporated into an organism, EDCs can affect the hormonal balance of various species including humans,[2] such as interfere with the normal functioning of endocrine system and reproductive system,[3] affect sexual differentiation and reproduction in vertebrates, even induce malformations and cancers of the reproductive organs.[4] EDCs mainly include phytoestrogens, pesticides, natural estrogens and synthetic estrogens. 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) (Figure 1) is a synthetic estrogen produced from the natural estrogen estradiol (E2), which is an active component of oral contraceptives (OCs).[5] EE2 is the synthetic estrogen of choice for medicine due to its solubility and low cost. EE2 is excreted from humans and animals and released into the aquatic environment through waste water from sewage treatment plants and agriculture.[6,7] A lot of EE2 enter the ecosystem and are found in reservoirs around the world.[8] EE2 is persistent and ubiquitous in the environment, which represents a potential risk to aquatic organisms and humans.[9] Although in recent decades, the effects of EE2 on human health have been a growing concern,[10] few studies have focused on the direct interaction with protein.