Luteinizing Hormone. 2. Relative Reactivities of Tyrosyl Residues of the Porcine Hormone Towards Iodination

International audienc

Luteinizing Hormone. 1. Circular Dichroism and Spectrophotometric Titration of Porcine and Bovine Hormones and of Their alpha and beta Subunits

International audienc

Residual and contaminants of alimentary commodity: 25 years of their analysis progress. 2. Biological methods of detection

This article presents a synthesis of the various biological methods used to detect residues or contaminants in foods, by insisting on their evolution during these last 25 years and by illustrating with numerous examples. The biological methods are based on the detection of a biological effect of the analyte of interest. In the years 60-70, this effect was detected by means of histology. At present, the biological tests use cells in culture genetically modified to contain a reporter gene, activated when the analyte of interest is present in the culture medium

Endocrine disruptors in food: potential impact on human health

Several scientific studies revealed that substances with hormonal (or antihormonal) activity are widely distributed in the environment as well as in food, either as natural constituents (as phytoestrogens), or as substances of anthropogenic origin (for example, Several observations concerning both the wild fauna and humans indicate that these products with hormonal activity are endocrine disruptors. Numerous ecotoxicological studies evidenced important disturbances of the fertility of the wild fauna in zones contaminated by pesticides. In humans, epidemiological studies revealed a significant increase of certain cancers (among others, that of the testicles) and a decrease of the male fertility. Substances with estrogenic activity are often considered, but other hormonal effects are more and more frequently discovered (i.e. anti-androgenic). Numerous worries appear concerning the long-term effects on human health linked to a chronic exposure to these substances by food ingestion. It is urgent to review, not only on the actual contamination of our food by endocrine disruptors (in terms of identification and quantification of every individual chemical), but also the potentially toxic activity of food containing a mixture of contaminants present at levels below their individual toxicity threshold