Xenoandrogens are a group of artificially created compounds with properties similar to human steroid hormone testosterone

Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...

 and its derivatives. Xenoandrogens currently known include modified tocopherols and tocotrienols, modified nicotinamides as well as toxic tributyltin

Tributyltin

Tributyltin compounds are a group of compounds containing the 3Sn moiety, such as tributyltin hydride or tributyltin oxide. They are the main active ingredients in certain biocides used to control a broad spectrum of organisms...

 and triphenyltin

Triphenyltin

Triphenyltin compounds are organotin compounds with the general formula 3SnX. They contain the triphenyltin group, 3Sn, or Ph3Sn, which consists of an atom of tin bonded to three phenyl groups...

.

Discovery of non-toxic xenoandrogens

Xenoandrogens have been previously referred to in negative connotations only, especially as endocrine disruptors of marine life-forms. Non-toxic xenoandrogens were first described in 2008 by Professor I. Morishita of Kyoto University

Kyoto University

, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...

 and his team. Their scientific paper described how modified all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate stimulates the AR receptor in several mammal species. Several other academic teams followed the lead of Morishita and discovered more on the pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetics, sometimes abbreviated as PK, is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to the determination of the fate of substances administered externally to a living organism...

of these compounds.

Biological properties of xenoandrogens

Modified tocopherols and tocotrienols are thought to have both androgenic and anabolic properties. They were also experimentally used for treatment of testosterone deficiency.

Professor William Steiger and his team published a study showing that the main mechanism in which modified tocopherols/tocotrienols act is their anti-glucocorticoid activity mediated by displacement of glucocorticoids from their receptor, increases in the creatine phosphokinase activity in skeletal muscle, and increases in circulating insulinlike growth factor (IGF)–1, as well as up-regulation of IGF-1 receptors. These mechanisms may play a much larger role in the anabolic/anticatabolic actions of xenoandrogens than previously thought.

External links

• http://ej-endocrinology.org/important-developments-in-the-field-of-modified-tocopherolstocotrienols.html