Effects of dietary phytoestrogens on plasma testosterone and triiodothyronine (T3) levels in male goat kids
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BACKGROUND: Exposure to xenoestrogens in humans and animals has gained increasing attention due to the effects of these compounds on reproduction. The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of low-dose dietary phytoestrogen exposure, i.e. a mixture of genistein, daidzein, biochanin A and formononetin, on the establishment of testosterone production during puberty in male goat kids. METHODS: Goat kids at the age of 3 months received either a standard diet or a diet supplemented with phytoestrogens (3-4 mg/kg/day) for approximately 3 months. Plasma testosterone and total and free triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations were determined weekly. Testicular levels of testosterone and cAMP were measured at the end of the experiment. Repeated measurement analysis of variance using the MIXED procedure on the generated averages, according to the Statistical Analysis System program package (Release 6.12, 1996, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was carried out. RESULTS: No significant difference in plasma testosterone concentration between the groups was detected during the first 7 weeks. However, at the age of 5 months (i.e. October 1, week 8) phytoestrogen-treated animals showed significantly higher testosterone concentrations than control animals (37.5 nmol/l vs 19.1 nmol/l). This elevation was preceded by a rise in plasma total T3 that occurred on September 17 (week 6). A slightly higher concentration of free T3 was detected in the phytoestrogen group at the same time point, but it was not until October 8 and 15 (week 9 and 10) that a significant difference was found between the groups. At the termination of the experiment, testicular cAMP levels were significantly lower in goats fed a phytoestrogen-supplemented diet. Phytoestrogen-fed animals also had lower plasma and testicular testosterone concentrations, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that phytoestrogens can stimulate testosterone synthesis during puberty in male goats by increasing the secretion of T3; a hormone known to stimulate Leydig cell steroidogenesis. It is possible that feedback signalling underlies the tendency towards decreased steroid production at the end of the experiment.
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Previous animal studies have shown that high-dose phytoestrogens administered during early life stages can impair sexual development, reduce testosterone, and affect fertility parameters.
“Previous animal studies have shown that high-dose phytoestrogens administered during early life stages can impair sexual development, reduce testosterone, and affect fertility parameters [57,58].”
From Prevention of Diet-Induced Obesity by Phytoecdysteroids 20-Hydroxyecdysone and Calonysterone—Unexpected Modulation of Androgen Balance in Normal and Obese Rats (2026) · cites this paper as [58]
The Background reports earlier rat studies in which early-life phytoestrogen exposure was associated with altered sexual development, impaired erectile function, and lower adult testosterone. The Discussion contrasts those findings with this study’s low-dose goat experiment, which found increased testosterone during puberty. The paper does not establish that the earlier exposures were high-dose or report measured fertility parameters for those animal studies. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Gunnarsson, D., Selstam, G., Ridderstråle, Y., Holm, L., Ekstedt, E., & Madej, A.
- Affiliations
- Umeå University (SE)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Gunnarsson, David
- Venue
- Acta veterinaria Scandinavica
- Published
- 2009-12
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 51-51
- ISSN
- 0044-605X (ISSN-L)
- 1751-0147
- PMC
- PMC2803173
- OpenAlex
- W2093957887
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 1.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Acta veterinaria Scandinavica (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Phytoestrogen effects and research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Keywords
- dietary phytoestrogens, xenoestrogens, plasma testosterone, triiodothyronine, free triiodothyronine, puberty, Leydig cell steroidogenesis, cyclic AMP, genistein, daidzein, biochanin A, formononetin, testicular steroidogenesis, endocrine disruption
- MeSH terms
- Cyclic AMP, Animals, Diet, Goats, Isoflavones, Male, Sexual Maturation, Testis, Testosterone, Triiodothyronine, Genistein, Phytoestrogens
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