Placenta transit of an environmental estrogen

Researchers show path of zearalenone through the womb using new technology The human foetus is considered to be particularly sensitive to environmental contaminants. A team led by Benedikt Warth from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna and Tina Bürki from the Swiss Materials Science and Technology Institute, Empa, has now been able to demonstrate for the first time how the widespread food estrogen zearalenone behaves in the womb. Using a new analytical method, it was shown that the xenoestrogen migrates through the placenta and is partially converted to other harmful substances. The study was published in the current issue of the renowned journal "Environmental Health Perspectives". Xenoestrogens are absorbed through the environment, especially through food. As estrogen-like substances, they can have a profound effect on the body's hormonal balance. Zearalenone, a widespread food estrogen, is produced by fungi (Fusarium species) and enters the body mainly through the diet of bread, cereals and other grain-based products.