Strong estrogenic activities were recorded for 6DMAN and 8PN in all assays used, while the parent compound naringenin showed only very weak estrogenicity.
In contrast, in the case of genistein derivatives, only genistein itself exhibited estrogenic activity in a yeast based assay. In MVLN breast cancer cells, a bioluminescent MCF-7-derived cell line, the estrogenic activity of all three genistein derivatives was similar. Studying alkaline phosphatase activity in Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells as an estrogenic response marker revealed a similar pattern of estrogenicity of the genistein derivatives compared to the yeast based assay although a slight estrogenic effect of 6DMAG and 8PG was apparent.
In summary, this study demonstrates that prenylation often found in plant secondary metabolism differentially modifies estrogenic properties of PEs depending on the basic structure of the respective PE.