Detection of the Health Foods Indicating the Estrogen Activity

The use of the health foods has been increasing, and therefore their safety has become an important issue. In recent years, health foods thought to have estrogen activity have appeared on the Japanese market, but no method for detecting the estrogen activity of such foods has been available. The present study assessed whether a “Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay” (luciferase reporter assay) was useful for detection of estrogen activity in health foods. Food showing high estrogen activity in the luciferase reporter assay had high activity in the uterus growth assay using laboratory animals. It is suggested that the luciferase reporter assay could be an effective technique for detection of estrogen activity in health foods.