Evaluation of Six Personal Care Products for Estrogenic Activity in a Yeast Estrogen Screen.

Authors

Daniel Weitzmann, Norfolk High School, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Morgan Eickmeier, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Reanna Hornback, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Heather Myers, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Bethany Plank, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Rebecca Stone, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Carlos Villarreal, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow
Irina Weitzmann, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, NEFollow

Abstract

Estrogenic compounds (EC) are chemicals that mimic the action of natural estrogens and cause an endocrine disruption in many species. In the present study, ethanolic extracts of six personal care products (skin and hair care products) were tested for their ability to bind to human estrogen receptors α and β in the yeast estrogen screen (YES). YES involves spectrophotometric measurements of the accumulation of colored products at 405 and 570 nm because of the EC-receptor binding. One of the PCPs, a sunscreen, showed a significant increase in the product absorbance of the yeast sample exposed to it, indicating the presence of EC. However, the examination of the sunscreen absorption spectrum showed signs of aggregation in the aqueous solution of the sunscreen, which strongly contributed to the sample light scattering and the inflated absorbance reading. The limitations of the spectrophotometric method of EC detection were discussed.

Recommended Citation

Weitzmann, Daniel; Eickmeier, Morgan; Hornback, Reanna; Myers, Heather; Plank, Bethany; Stone, Rebecca; Villarreal, Carlos; and Weitzmann, Irina (2021) "Evaluation of Six Personal Care Products for Estrogenic Activity in a Yeast Estrogen Screen.," RURALS: Review of Undergraduate Research in Agricultural and Life Sciences: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/rurals/vol14/iss1/3