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DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS OF DIETARY SOY PHYTOESTROGENS
Description:
The purpose of the project is to conduct a series of experiments to determine whether developmental exposure to dietary phytochemicals that have estrogenic activity will affect central nervous system and reproductive system functions later in life. The basic design is, in addition to a control group, dietary exposure of pregnant rats to three different levels of soy phytoestrogens or the reference estrogen diethylstilbestrol during late preganancy, the neonatal interval, lactation and ending with weaning. The groups of exposed progeny, particularly the females, will be studied. Outcomes will include adolescent behavior, age of onset of puberty, initial ovarian cyclicity, age-associated cessation of ovarian cyclicity, ovarian follicle numbers and brain histomorphometry/histochemistry to assess sexually dimorphic endpoints. These observations will provide substantial insight regarding the effects or lack of effect of these naturally-occuring dietary estrogens on several subtle but important developmental outcomes.