Comparison of in vitro Toxicities of 8-Prenylnaringenin, Tartrazine and 17β-Estradiol, Representatives of Natural and Synthetic Estrogens, in Rat and Human Hepatoma Cell Lines

ABSTRACT

Background: Phytoestrogens have been praised for their beneficial health effects, whereas synthetic xenoestrogens have been connected to ailments. Aims: To ascertain whether the toxicities of natural and synthetic estrogens differ, we examined the potent phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN), the common synthetic xenoestrogen tartrazine, and the physiological estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2). Methods: These three compounds were tested for cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and genotoxicity in human HepG2 and rat H4IIE hepatoma cells. Results: All three estrogens elicited cytotoxicity at high concentrations in both cell lines. They also inhibited cell proliferation, with E2 being the most effective. They all tended to increase micronuclei formation. Conclusion: Natural estrogens were no less toxic than a synthetic one.

KEYWORDS:

• 17β-estradiol
• 8-prenylnaringenin
• phytoestrogens
• tartrazine
• xenoestrogens

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Hadi Tabarraei for help with the three-way ANOVA analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author (s).

Data availability statement

The data are available from A.N. upon reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07435800.2024.2337758