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a Source of Estrogens
Judith S. Gavaler, Ph.D.
Alcoholic beverages contain not only alcohol but also numerous other substances (i.e., con-
geners) that may contribute to the beverages’ physiological effects. Plants used to produce
alcoholic beverages contain estrogenlike substances (i.e., phytoestrogens). Observations that
men with alcoholic cirrhosis often show testicular failure and symptoms of feminization have
suggested that alcoholic beverages may contain biologically active phytoestrogens as con-
geners. Biochemical analyses have identified several phytoestrogens in the congeners of
bourbon, beer, and wine. Studies using subjects who produced no estrogen themselves (i.e.,
rats whose ovaries had been removed and postmenopausal women) demonstrated that phyto-
estrogens in alcoholic beverage congeners exerted estrogenlike effects in both animals and
humans. Those effects were observed even at moderate drinking levels. KEY WORDS: alcoholic
beverage; congener; estrogens; male; female; plant; alcoholic liver cirrhosis; testicular dysfunc-
tion; feminization; hypothesis testing; biochemical mechanism; animal model; ovary; moderate
AOD use; prolactin; follicle stimulating hormone; luteinizing hormone; cholesterol; globulins;
literature review
T
he excessive consumption of drinking also includes people who con- in addition to alcohol itself (i.e., con-
alcoholic beverages is associated sume alcoholic beverages only occasionally geners), which determine a beverage’s
with numerous serious medical, and corresponds to the recommended taste, color, and aroma. Alcoholic bev-
social, and legal problems that exact a limits for low-risk alcohol consumption erages differ in both the composition
high human and economic price. Despite (U.S. Department of Agriculture and and quantity of congeners. These varia-
the monumental problems caused by U.S. Department of Health and Human tions result from the different methods
alcohol abuse and dependence, however, Services 1995).
the fact is that most people who drink When discussing the risks and bene-
consume moderate amounts of alcoholic fits associated with alcoholic beverages, JUDITH S. GAVALER, PH.D., is a profes-
beverages. Indeed, an additional direction most people think in terms of the bev- sor at the Oklahoma Medical Research
for alcohol research has been generated erages’ alcohol contents. Consequently, Foundation and an adjunct professor of
by reports of the beneficial effect of mod- much of the research aimed at determin- biostatistics and epidemiology at the
erate drinking on the risk of coronary ing how alcoholic beverages affect the University of Oklahoma College of Public
heart disease (CHD) (Klatsky 1994). body has been conducted using alcohol Health, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Thus, studies have found that compared solutions to approximate the effects of
with abstainers and heavier drinkers, alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages, This work has been supported by National
moderate drinkers (i.e., women who con- however, contain numerous substances Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
sume up to one standard drink1 per day grants AA–06772 and AA–11184,
and men who consume up to two drinks 1
A standard drink is defined as a 12-ounce bottle
the Office of Research on Women’s
per day) have a significantly reduced risk of beer or wine cooler, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or Health, and the Office of Research
of CHD. This definition of moderate 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. on Minority Health.
and materials (e.g., grains, fruits, and The estrogen-receptor complexes then compounds, including phytoestrogens.
hops) from which the beverages are move into the cell nucleus, where the The hypothesis has been tested in bio-
produced. This article explores the transported estrogen is transferred to chemical analyses, animal models, and
hypothesis that congeners, particularly nuclear estrogen receptors. The nuclear human studies. The results of those
phytoestrogens, contribute to the effects complexes, in turn, interact with a certain analyses are summarized in the follow-
of alcoholic beverages on the body. type of genetic molecule (i.e., ribonucleic ing sections.
acid [RNA]) in the nucleus, thereby
influencing the activity of certain genes
Evidence of the Estrogenic and modifying the cell’s function. The Biochemical Analyses
Activity of Congeners strength (i.e., specificity and affinity)
with which estrogens bind to their recep- To investigate the hypothesis that some
Researchers’ interest in the congeners tors differs among the molecules. Thus, of the effects of alcoholic beverages result
of alcoholic beverages first was spurred steroidal estrogens exhibit greater affin- from estrogenic congeners, researchers
by various reports in the agricultural ity and specificity for estrogen receptors removed all of the alcohol, other volatile
literature. For example, some studies than do nonsteroidal phytoestrogens substances, and most of the water con-
reported that grazing animals feeding on (Rosenblum et al. 1993; Hertog et al. tained in various alcoholic beverages (e.g.,
particular forages and grasses showed 1993; Miksicek 1995; Makela et al. 1995) bourbon, wine, and beer) using a tech-
evidence of impaired reproduction. Sub- and therefore generally are more pow- nique called rotoevaporation (see figure
sequently, using those forages, researchers erful in their actions. 1). The resulting congener concentrates
isolated substances that exhibited estro- then were subjected to sophisticated
genlike activity and later identified them biochemical analyses, such as gas chro-
as estrogenlike substances of plant origin
Phytoestrogens in Alcoholic matography and mass spectrometry,
(i.e., nonsteroidal phytoestrogens) (see
Beverages—A Hypothesis to isolate and identify any estrogenic
the following section). Finally, studies Case studies have shown that men with
demonstrated that the phytoestrogens liver damage resulting from excessive
found in milled by-products and oils alcohol consumption (i.e., alcoholic
made from various grains, hops, corn, cirrhosis) often suffer from testicular
and rice exhibited biological activity both failure—the inability of the testes to Alcoholic
beverage
in experimental animals and in studies produce male sex hormones. In addi- (e.g., wine,
using cultured cells (see Gavaler et al. tion, those men also frequently show bourbon,
1987a,b; 1995a,b; and references therein). signs and symptoms of feminization, beer)
such as enlarged breasts and a redistri-
bution of body fat into a pattern that
Estrogens and Their Activities mimics that of women (for reviews, see Rotoevaporation
Estrogens are female sex hormones that Wright et al. 1992; Gavaler and Van
are produced primarily in the ovaries. Thiel 1988). These signs and symptoms remove
• Alcohol
These hormones play essential roles in are consistent with exposure to high (ethanol)
the development and maintenance of levels of estrogen. Surprisingly, however, • Other
the female reproductive organs and the levels of the steroidal estrogens in volatile
breasts as well as in pregnancy and cirrhotic, feminized men are similar substances
lactation. In men, small amounts of to or only slightly elevated compared • Most of
the water
estrogens are produced in the testes. with the levels in age-matched non- Congener
(For more information on estrogens alcoholic men. concentrate for
and their functions, see the article by The fact that alcoholic beverages are administration to
OVEX rats and
Hiller-Sturmhöfel and Bartke, pp. made from many plants and plant by- postmenopausal
153–164.) Based on the structure of products that contain phytoestrogens women
the molecules, two main classes of has led to the hypothesis that alcoholic
estrogens exist: steroidal and non- beverages contain biologically active
steroidal. The steroidal estrogens— phytoestrogens as congeners. According
estradiol and estrone—are generated to this hypothesis, two factors might Figure 1 Schematic representation of
by the body. Nonsteroidal estrogens, contribute, at least in part, to the femi- the preparation of alcoholic beverage
also known as phytoestrogens, are nization observed in men with alcoholic congener concentrates, which can be
produced by certain plants. cirrhosis: (1) prolonged exposure to the used to investigate the effects of those
Estrogens exert their effects by entering phytoestrogens contained in alcoholic congeners in rats whose ovaries have
their target cells, where they bind to beverage congeners and (2) the impaired been removed (OVEX rats) and in
docking molecules (i.e., receptors) in the ability of the alcohol-damaged liver to postmenopausal women.
fluid that fills the cell (i.e., the cytosol). adequately metabolize and excrete many
Week 2
The Experimental Animal Model
To maximize the probability of detect- Week 3
ing a response to biologically active
phytoestrogens in alcoholic beverage
congeners, researchers needed to use Week 4
animals that produced no or very little
estrogen themselves. One such model Draw blood for
recovery hormone
is a female rat whose ovaries have been Week 5 End of experiment
levels
removed (i.e., an OVEX rat). In the
absence of the ovaries and thus of cyclic
ovarian function, the animal’s estrogen Subsequently, measure levels of prolactin, FSH,
production is greatly diminished. (This LH, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and sex
type of rat also can serve as a model for hormone-binding globulin
postmenopausal women, whose ovaries
have ceased to produce estrogen.)
The loss of ovarian hormone produc- Figure 2 Protocol of experiments to evaluate potential estrogenlike effects of
tion induces several changes in the body alcoholic beverage congeners in (A) rats whose ovaries have been
that can serve as markers of the level of removed (i.e., ovariectomized) and (B) postmenopausal women.
ovarian function. First, the body sub-
NOTE: FSH = follicle-stimulating hormone; LH = luteinizing hormone.
stantially increases the levels of certain
hormones (i.e., gonadotropins) that
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Hormone Levels
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Hormone Levels
Figure 4 Effects of alcoholic beverage congeners on (A) follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and (B) luteinizing hormone (LH) levels
in postmenopausal women. For 4 weeks, the women consumed congener amounts corresponding to those present in
one standard drink of the beverage daily. Basal hormone levels were determined before the women began the experi-
ment. Trough levels represent the lowest hormone levels that were detected during the 4-week administration period of
alcoholic beverage congeners. Recovery levels were determined 1 week after the last ingestion of congeners. All con-
geners had estrogenlike effects (i.e., resulted in lower FSH and LH levels). The effects of the various congeners did not
differ significantly.
NOTE: The wide bars represent mean values, whereas the narrow brackets represent the standard error of the mean. A star above a bar indicates a significant
difference from basal levels as determined by paired T-test (p < 0.025). The differences in baseline levels result from variations in the mean levels of the subjects
in the various groups.
IU/L = International units per liter.
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Prl (pg/mL)
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Hormone Levels
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Hormone Levels
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Hormone Levels
Figure 5 Effects of alcoholic beverage congeners on the levels of (A) prolactin (Prl), (B) high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol,
and (C) sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in postmenopausal women. For 4 weeks, the women consumed congener
amounts corresponding to those present in one standard drink of the beverage daily. Basal hormone levels were deter-
mined before the women began the experiment. Peak levels represent the highest hormone levels that were detected
during the 4-week administration period of alcoholic beverage congeners. Recovery levels were determined 1 week after
the last ingestion of congeners. All congeners had estrogenlike effects (i.e., resulted in elevated levels of Prl, HDL
cholesterol, and SHBG). The effects of the various congeners did not differ significantly.