Naturally produced steroid hormones and their release into the environment
L. S. Shore and M. Shemesh
Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O.Box 12, Bet Dagan,
Israel
Abstract: Steroidal hormones produced by humans and animals
are constantly excreted into the environment in their active forms.
The primary steroid hormones are progesterone, estrone, estradiol, testosterone,
and cortisol, all of which are lipophilic and poorly soluble in water.
The steroids of major concern are estrone and estradiol-17b,
since they exert their physiological effects at a lower concentration
than other steroids and can be found in the environment in concentrations
above their LOEL for fish and plants (10 ng/l). The steroid hormones
can be readily measured in run-off, soil, and groundwater, but each
steroid has its distinct pathway of transport. Since the major source
of steroids in the environment appears to be cattle and chickens, the
hormonal steroid input into the environment could be drastically reduced
by well-established techniques such as buffer strips and composting.
*Report from a SCOPE/IUPAC project: Implication of
Endocrine Active Substances for Human and Wildlife (J. Miyamoto and
J.Burger, editors). Other reports are published in this issue,
pp. 1617-2615.
Page last modified 29 January 2004.
Copyright © 2004 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions or comments about IUPAC, please contact, the Secretariat.
Questions regarding the website, please contact web
manager.