DRUG AND CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGY, cilt.46, sa.4, ss.1-13, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
Phytoestrogens are xenoestrogens found in plants with a myriad of health benefits. However, variousstudies reported the genotoxic effects of these substances. Thus, we reviewedin vitroandin vivostud-ies published in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to evaluate the genotoxic and the genoprotec-tive potential of phytoestrogens. Only studies written in English and intended to study commerciallyavailable phytoestrogens were included. The screening was performed manually. Moreover, the under-lying mechanism of action of phytoestrogens was described. Around half of those studies (43%)reported genoprotective results. However, several studies revealed positive results for genotoxicity withspecific model organisms and with dose/concentration dependence. The assessment of the selectedarticles showed substantial differences in the used concentrations and a biphasic response wasrecorded in some phytoestrogens. As far as we know, this is the first study to assess the genotoxic andgenoprotective effects of phytoestrogens systematically.