Xenoestrogen

=Xenoestrogen= Is a type of hormone that mimics the effect of estrogen. Though they don't have similar properties the effects are still the same. It is a widely used industrial compound but is found to cause many adverse effects to the body. Most notably is the effect to the reproductive organs to whom it contaminates. Also it is noted to cause birth defects.

As a heterogeneous group of chemicals that are [|hormonally active agents], xenoestrogens are similar to other estrogens, such as [|phytoestrogens] (estrogenic substances from plants) and [|mycoestrogens] (estrogenic substances from [|fungi] , which can be considered as one type of [|mycotoxin] ). Xenoestrogens include pharmacological estrogens (estrogenic action is an intended effect, as in the drug [|ethinyl estradiol] used in [|contraceptive pill] ), but other chemicals may also have estrogenic effects. Xenoestrogens have been introduced into the environment by industrial, agricultural and chemical companies and consumers only in the last 70 years or so, but archiestrogens have been a ubiquitous part of the environment even before the existence of the human race given that some plants (like the cereals and the legumes) are using estrogenic substances possibly as part of their natural defence against [|herbivore] animals by controlling their male fertility. [|[7]] [|[8]]
 * Xenoestrogens** are a type of [|xenohormone] that imitates [|estrogen] . They are widely used industrial compounds such as [|PCB], [|BPA] and [|Phthalates] , that have estrogenic effects on a living organism even though they differ chemically from the naturally occurring estrogenic substances internally produced by the [|endocrine system] of the organism. Their potential ecological and human health impact is currently under extensive study by many scientific institutions and independent researchers. [|[1]] The word xenoestrogen is derived from the Greek words ξένο (xeno, meaning foreign), οἶστρος (estrus, meaning sexual desire) and γόνο (gene, meaning "to generate") and literally means "foreign [|estrogen] ". Xenoestrogens are also called "environmental hormones" or "EDC" (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds). Most scientists that study xenoestrogens, including [|The Endocrine Society] , regard them as serious environmental hazards that have [|hormone disruptive effects] on both wildlife and humans. [|[2]] [|[3]] [|[4]] [|[5]] [|[6]]