Vegetables estrogenic activity

Studies have shown a correlation between diets high in cruciferous vegetables and the reduced incidence of several types of cancer [10, 11]. I3C has been proposed as one of the causative agents for these observations. The known estrogenic activity of I3C lends some support to this idea [12, 13]. However, there is some contradictory evidence from animal studies. Although I3C inhibited cancer... 

CN007 Booth, A. N., E. M. Bickoff, and G. O. Kohler. Estrogen-like activity in vegetable oils and mill by-products. Science 1960 131 1807. 

Some of the interest in Z is-indolylmethanes comes from the purported biological activity of trimeric and tetrameric analogs. A cyclic trimer derived from indole-3-methanol has attracted attention in connection with the antitumor activity associated with vegetables of the species Brassica. The chemical lability of indole-3-methanol and its condensation products are the source, however, of considerable complication in interpreting the metabolism of these compounds [182, 183]. Under acidic conditions, indole-3-methanol is converted to the trimer, but also to the bis-(3 -indolyl) methane and an isomer [184—186]. The trimer is reported to be an estrogen receptor agonist and to stimulate the function of an estrogen-dependent cell line (MCF-7) [187]. 

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