Endocrine Disrupting Compounds

There are a number of natural, synthetic, and pharmaceutical substances that enter our environment that have the ability to interfere with the endocrine system. Environmental contaminants that mimic the biological activities of estrogens have caused concern because of their effects on development, reproduction and growth in wildlife and humans exposed to them. The estrogenic potency of these compounds can be determined using in vitro bioassays such as a yeas estrogen screening (YES) assay. This assay uses a genetically modified yeast to measure the estrogenic activity of compounds. The YES assay was developed to test chemicals for estrogenic activity, and can be used to test municipal and industrial effluents for the presence or absence of estrogen mimicking compounds.