Genistein: A Potent Natural Antiandrogen

Flavonoids and other polyphenolic natural compounds have attracted much attention as candidate cancer preventive and anticarcinogenic agents, as well as antiatherogenic and antioxidant compounds (1). Although the public now consumes these compounds in substantial amounts from dietary sources, food supplements, and more recently, as “nutraceutical” tablets, their actual mode of action is not fully defined. The most compelling hypotheses correlate the biological action of flavonoids to their ability to mimic natural estrogens (2)(3) such as estradiol, or to act as antioxidants (4). Indeed, genistein, a natural soy isoflavone, is among the most potent known phytoestrogens. The ability of flavonoids to act as androgen mimics or antiandrogens has attracted much less attention. Recently, …