Phytoestrogens are found in some foods in concentrations approaching potential use as oral contraceptives. For example, Zava et al. (1998) found that soy milk contains about 8 μg of estradiol equivalents per 200 mL. A low dose of an oral contraceptive pill contains 20 μg estradiol (Hatcher et al. 2013). They also found that dried herbs, including licorice, red clover, mandrake, bloodroot, and thyme, contain several micrograms per gram of dried herb. Other herbs, including yucca, turmeric, hops, verbena, yellow dock, and sheep sorrel, contained around 250 ng per g of dried herb. Studies ascribe fertility problems to sheep that consume the phytoestrogen coumestrol found in clover (Adams 1995) and cheetahs given soy-based foods (Setchell et al. 1987).
Concentrations of EDSs and PFAS in various sources
| Source . | Chemical . | Concentration/Dose . | Citation . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estrogens | |||
| Oral contraceptive pills | Synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinyl estradiol | 20–35 μg/day | Hatcher et al. (2013), Enna & Bylund (2007), Feisullin & Westhoff (2010) |
| Hormone replacement therapy | Estrogens | ≥300 μg/day/dose | Fritz & Speroff (2011), Shen et al. (2016) |
| Human breast milk | Estrogens | 0.5–2 μg/L milk or 0.5–2 μg/L for a nursing infant | Petrakis et al. (1987) |
| Milk and dairy products | Animal-derived estrogens | Estrone: 6.2–1,266 ng/L 17α-estradiol: 7.2–322 ng/L 17β-estradiol: 5.6–51 ng/L | Malekinejad & Rezabakhsh (2015) |
| Milk and dairy products | Animal-derived estrogens | Estrone: 130–260 ng/L 17β-estradiol: 28–62 ng/L | Farlow et al. (2012) |
| Drinking water | 17α-ethinyl estradiol | <1 ng/L | Kumar et al. (2014) |
| Phytoestrogens | |||
| Soy milk | Estradiol | 4 μg/100 mL | Zava et al. (1998) |
| Various herbs | 250 ng/g dried herb | Setchell et al. (1987), Adams (1995), Hatcher et al. (2013) | |
| Consumer products | |||
| Shampoos, lipsticks, soaps, and sunscreen | Benzophenone-3 (BP3) | Variable concentrations | Calafat et al. (2008), Krause et al. (2012), Ruszkiewicz et al. (2017) |
| Drinking water and food | |||
| Drinking water | Benzophenone-3 (BP3) | n.d. – 72 ng/L levels | da Silva et al. (2015) |
| Foods | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS | Average dietary intake in foods: ∼20–75 ng/day | Ericson et al. (2008), Egeghy & Lorber (2011), Gebbink et al. (2015), Shan et al. (2016) |
| Fish and seafood (depends on type) | Sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA (mean) | 0.16–0.7 ng/g fresh weight | Ericson et al. (2008) |
| Pork, chicken, beef, mutton | Sum of 11 PFAS | 3–28 ng/g wet weight | Shan et al. (2016) |
| Fruits and vegetables | Sum of 11 PFAS | 1–7.5 ng/g wet weight | Shan et al. (2016) |
| Drinking water | PFOS | <1% of total exposure compared to food | Haug et al. (2011) |
| Drinking water | PFOA | ∼13% of total exposure compared to food | Haug et al. (2011) |
| Source . | Chemical . | Concentration/Dose . | Citation . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estrogens | |||
| Oral contraceptive pills | Synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinyl estradiol | 20–35 μg/day | Hatcher et al. (2013), Enna & Bylund (2007), Feisullin & Westhoff (2010) |
| Hormone replacement therapy | Estrogens | ≥300 μg/day/dose | Fritz & Speroff (2011), Shen et al. (2016) |
| Human breast milk | Estrogens | 0.5–2 μg/L milk or 0.5–2 μg/L for a nursing infant | Petrakis et al. (1987) |
| Milk and dairy products | Animal-derived estrogens | Estrone: 6.2–1,266 ng/L 17α-estradiol: 7.2–322 ng/L 17β-estradiol: 5.6–51 ng/L | Malekinejad & Rezabakhsh (2015) |
| Milk and dairy products | Animal-derived estrogens | Estrone: 130–260 ng/L 17β-estradiol: 28–62 ng/L | Farlow et al. (2012) |
| Drinking water | 17α-ethinyl estradiol | <1 ng/L | Kumar et al. (2014) |
| Phytoestrogens | |||
| Soy milk | Estradiol | 4 μg/100 mL | Zava et al. (1998) |
| Various herbs | 250 ng/g dried herb | Setchell et al. (1987), Adams (1995), Hatcher et al. (2013) | |
| Consumer products | |||
| Shampoos, lipsticks, soaps, and sunscreen | Benzophenone-3 (BP3) | Variable concentrations | Calafat et al. (2008), Krause et al. (2012), Ruszkiewicz et al. (2017) |
| Drinking water and food | |||
| Drinking water | Benzophenone-3 (BP3) | n.d. – 72 ng/L levels | da Silva et al. (2015) |
| Foods | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS | Average dietary intake in foods: ∼20–75 ng/day | Ericson et al. (2008), Egeghy & Lorber (2011), Gebbink et al. (2015), Shan et al. (2016) |
| Fish and seafood (depends on type) | Sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA (mean) | 0.16–0.7 ng/g fresh weight | Ericson et al. (2008) |
| Pork, chicken, beef, mutton | Sum of 11 PFAS | 3–28 ng/g wet weight | Shan et al. (2016) |
| Fruits and vegetables | Sum of 11 PFAS | 1–7.5 ng/g wet weight | Shan et al. (2016) |
| Drinking water | PFOS | <1% of total exposure compared to food | Haug et al. (2011) |
| Drinking water | PFOA | ∼13% of total exposure compared to food | Haug et al. (2011) |
Note: n.d., non-detect.
EDS concentrations have not been corrected for transactivity, which lowers the endocrine disruption activity by orders of magnitude as shown by Kjeldsen & Bonefeld-Jørgensen (2013).