coumestrol
Sign in to saveAlso known as Chrysanthin, 3,9-dihydroxycoumestan, 5,14-dihydroxy-8,17-dioxatetracyclo[8.7.0.0^{2,7}.0^{11,16}]heptadeca-1(10),2,4,6,11,13,15-heptaen-9-one, 3,9-Dihydroxy-6H-[1]benzofuro[3,2-c]chromen-6-one, Cumoesterol
Coumestrol is a natural organic compound in the class of phytochemicals known as coumestans. Coumestrol was first identified as a compound with estrogenic properties by E. M. Bickoff in ladino clover and alfalfa in 1957. It has garnered research interest because of its estrogenic activity and prevalence in some foods, including soybeans, brussels sprouts, spinach and a variety of legumes. The highest concentrations of coumestrol are found in clover, Kala Chana (a type of chick pea), and Alfalfa sprouts.
Research
660 papers- The Influence of Coumestrol on Sphingolipid Signaling Pathway and Insulin Resistance Development in Primary Rat Hepatocytes.Biomolecules · 2021
- Coumestrol induces oxidative stress and impairs migration and embryonic growth.Reproduction (Cambridge, England) · 2023
- Coumestrol induces apoptosis and inhibits invasion in human liver cancer cells.Toxicology reports · 2025
- From Plants to Therapies: Exploring the Pharmacology of Coumestrol for Neurological Conditions.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024
- Coumestrol ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity via activating AMPKα.Free radical research · 2020
via PubMed
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- Natural sources and dietary intake
- Biological effects on mammals
- Nervous system
- Reproductive system
- Skeletal system
- Genotoxicity
- Metabolism
- Menopause
- Breast cancer
- Current and future research
- References
- Further reading
Coumestrol is a natural organic compound in the class of phytochemicals known as coumestans. Coumestrol was first identified as a compound with estrogenic properties by E. M. Bickoff in ladino clover and alfalfa in 1957. It has garnered research interest because of its estrogenic activity and prevalence in some foods, including soybeans, brussels sprouts, spinach and a variety of legumes. The highest concentrations of coumestrol are found in clover, Kala Chana (a type of chick pea), and Alfalfa sprouts.
Coumestrol is a phytoestrogen, mimicking the biological activity of estrogens. Phytoestrogens are able to pass through cell membranes due to their low molecular weight and stable structure, and they are able to interact with the enzymes and receptors of cells. Coumestrol binds to the ERα and ERβ with similar affinity to that of estradiol (94% and 185% of the relative binding affinity of estradiol at the ERα and ERβ, respectively), although the estrogenic activity of coumestrol at both receptors is much less than that of estradiol. In any case, coumestrol has estrogenic activity that is 30 to 100 times greater than that of isoflavones.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “coumestrol” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.