title: [Effects of high doses of genistein on mammary gland of female rat].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the effects of high doses of genistein on the mammary glands of adult female rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight days after oophorectomy, 50 adult female rats were divided into five groups, as follows: a control group (Ctrl), three rats that received genistein (GEN) at the doses of 46 mg/kg (GEN46;), 125 mg/kg (GEN125) and 250 mg/kg (GEN250); one group received conjugated equine estrogen at the dose of 50 µg/g (ECE50). The substances were administered daily for 30 consecutive days by gavage and in the last week of the period of treatment, colpocytological exams were carried out for seven consecutive days. After treatment, the animals were anesthetized, blood samples were collected for estradiol and progesterone determination and the first pair of inguinal mammary glands was removed and processed for histomorphometric analysis. Collected data were subjected to analysis of variance supplemented by the Tukey-Kramer test (p<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  the ctrl group and the ones treated with different doses of GEN showed atrophic mammary glands, whereas the glands were more developed in the ECE group, where numerous mammary ducts and alveoli were observed. Morphometry showed a larger area of mammary parenchyma in the ECE group (98.870.1 ± 550.4 µm²* per mm²; p<0.05) compared with other groups (Ctrl=36.875.6 ± 443.4; GEN46=37.001.7 ± 557.4; GEN125=36.480.8 ± 658.3 and GEN250=37.502.8 ± 669.3). The same occurred in the number of alveoli in the ECE group (33.2 ± 6.9* per mm²; p<0.05) compared to the other groups (Ctrl=10.4 ± 2.1, GEN46=11.2 ± 3.1; GEN125=11.6 ± 2.1 and GEN250=12.3 ± 2.3). The estradiol level was higher in the ECE group compared to the other groups (9.4 ± 1.7 pg/mL; p<0.05), whereas serum levels of progesterone were similar in all groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the administration of genistein at high doses had no trophic effect on the mammary glands of rats.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Morfologia e Genética, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Adriana Aparecida Ferraz
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Carbonel
authors.forename: Regiane Helena Barros Rabelo
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Ricardo Santos
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Rinaldo Flôrencio
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: José Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Edmund Chada
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Baracat
authors.forename: Mauro Abi
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Haidar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D019833:Genistein / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D048789:Phytoestrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D048789:Phytoestrogens; D019833:Genistein