In vitro study on estrogenic effects of quercetin and genistein on a model of colorectal cancer cells

Soy and soy foods contain a wide variety of chemical compounds, biologically active, that may contribute, individually or synergistically, to the health benefits of this plant; in particular polyphenols are considered to possess chemopreventive and therapeutic properties against cancer. Among these compounds there are isoflavones, the most important and abundant of which is Genistein that have also estrogenic properties. Phytoestrogens, present in soy based food, may act through hormonal mechanisms to reduce cancer risk by binding to estrogen receptors (ER) or interacting with enzymes involved in sex steroid biosynthesis and metabolism. Moreover, genistein may inhibit cancer progression by inducing apoptosis or inhibiting proliferation, and the mechanisms by which genistein exerts its anti-tumor effects has been the subject of considerable interest. Quercetin is a flavonoid present in many plant sources at levels sufficient so that it is considered to be the major flavonol present in the human diet. Warren and others have demonstrated the ability of quercetin to suppress the formation of early neoplastic lesions of colon cancer (aberrant crypt foci, ACF) through an inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis.