Articles White Button Mushroom Phytochemicals Inhibit Aromatase Activity and Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation1 ,2 Baiba J Grube3, Elizabeth T. Eng, Yeh-Chih Kao, Annette Kwon and Shiuan Chen4 Division of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010 4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: schen@coh.org. Estrogen is a major factor in the development of breast cancer. In situ estrogen production by aromatase/estrogen synthetase in breast cancer plays a dominant role in tumor proliferation. Because natural compounds such as flavones and isoflavones have been shown to be inhibitors of aromatase, it is thought that vegetables that contain these phytochemicals can inhibit aromatase activity and suppress breast cancer cell proliferation. Heat-stable extracts were prepared from vegetables and screened for their ability to inhibit aromatase activity in a human placental microsome assay. The white button mushroom (species Agaricus bisporus) suppressed aromatase activity dose dependently. Enzyme kinetics demonstrated mixed inhibition, suggesting the presence of multiple inhibitors or more than one inhibitory mechanism. "In cell" aromatase activity and cell proliferation were measured using MCF-7aro, an aromatase-transfected breast cancer cell line. Phytochemicals in the mushroom aqueous extract inhibited aromatase activity and proliferation of MCF-7aro cells. These results suggest that diets high in mushrooms may modulate the aromatase activity and function in chemoprevention in postmenopausal women by reducing the in situ production of estrogen. Journal of Nutrition. 2001;131:3288-3293.) © 2001 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.