According to the references at the end of
this post, a natural compound called luteolin
may be useful as a natural aromatase enzyme
suppressor. Luteolin is found in parsley,
artichoke, basil, celery and other plants.
Anybody have any more info on this?
1. Wang C, et al. Lignans and flavonoids
inhibit aromatase enzyme in human
preadipocytes. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry
& Molecular Biology 1994 Aug; 50(3-4):205-12.
2. Joshi S.C, et al. Inhibition of
17beta-estradiol formation by isoflavonoids
and flavonoids in cultered JEG-3 cells: Search
for aromatase-targeting dietary compounds.
Journal of Medicinal Food 1999, 2/3-4 (235-
238).
Actually there are a ton of flavonoids
etc. that you can find someone to have
done a study showing slight inhibitory
activity on aromatase. When one of them
works in the nanomolar concentration
range instead of the many-micromolar
range, then it would be more likely to
have some potential.
Luteolin is a particularly bad choice
in my opinion because it’s the most estrogenic,
so far as I know, of all the flavonoids (you
may inhibit aromatase, but you’re adding
your own new estrogen!) and also is very
non-specific… it does a lot of things,
some of which may be undesirable at high dose,
besides being an estrogen and a weak
antiaromatase.
At dietary concentrations it’s obviously
no problem… load up on it and I’d expect
an overall adverse effect, not a beneficial
effect.