Steroid Receptor Antagonists in Bottled Water

[miquelangeles]

Identification of Putative Steroid Receptor Antagonists in Bottled Water: Combining Bioassays and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are man-made compounds interfering with hormone signaling and thereby adversely affecting human health. Recent reports provide evidence for the presence of EDCs in commercially available bottled water, including steroid ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An increasing number of in vitro studies reports the presence of EDCs in bottled water [12], [13], [14], [15], [17]. With previous studies focusing on estrogenicity, the present work provides evidence for an additional contamination with steroid receptor antagonists. Using an optimized extraction procedure, we detected antiestrogens and antiandrogens in the majority of analyzed bottled water products. Moreover, the antagonist activity was very potent. An equivalent of 3.75 mL bottled water inhibited estrogen and androgen receptor by up to 60 and 90%, respectively. By deriving bio-equivalents [26], this inhibition can be set in relation to the pharmaceutical antiandrogen flutamide that was used as reference compound in the YAAS (Fig. S8). For the most active samples, the inhibition corresponds to a theoretical concentration of 5.25 mg flutamide equivalents L−1. In concordance with our findings, Plotan et al. [16] recently reported antiandrogenicity in one third of the analyzed bottled waters. Here, samples inhibited androgen receptor by approximately 15–70% with the highest activity detected in flavored products.

Similar to our previous study [17], an optimization of the extraction procedure was necessary to isolate steroid receptor antagonists from bottled water effectively. This demonstrates that some commonly used sample preparation techniques are either ineffective in extracting EDCs in quest or effective in coextracting estrogens and antiestrogens that mask each other’s effects. Both scenarios produce false-negative results and might explain the inability to detect endocrine activity in bottled water [18].

From a broader perspective, bottled water from six different countries has been found to contain estrogenic [12], [13], [14], [15], [17], antiestrogenic, and antiandrogenic (this study), as well as androgenic, progestagenic, and glucocorticoid-like chemicals [16]. This demonstrates that a popular beverage is contaminated with diverse-acting EDCs. However, none of the causative chemicals has been identified to date, hindering an evaluation of the toxicological relevance of these findings.

 

[Jon2547]

Mystery solved. I recently had been using bottled water, over the last 3 or 4 weeks and noticed problems with the prostate.
Prior this I had been using filter water stored in large plastic 4 gallon jugs. (I know that no plastic is good but the large 4 gallon refills are much better than the smaller plastic bottles. )

 

[haidut]

Identification of Putative Steroid Receptor Antagonists in Bottled Water: Combining Bioassays and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are man-made compounds interfering with hormone signaling and thereby adversely affecting human health. Recent reports provide evidence for the presence of EDCs in commercially available bottled water, including steroid ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An increasing number of in vitro studies reports the presence of EDCs in bottled water [12], [13], [14], [15], [17]. With previous studies focusing on estrogenicity, the present work provides evidence for an additional contamination with steroid receptor antagonists. Using an optimized extraction procedure, we detected antiestrogens and antiandrogens in the majority of analyzed bottled water products. Moreover, the antagonist activity was very potent. An equivalent of 3.75 mL bottled water inhibited estrogen and androgen receptor by up to 60 and 90%, respectively. By deriving bio-equivalents [26], this inhibition can be set in relation to the pharmaceutical antiandrogen flutamide that was used as reference compound in the YAAS (Fig. S8). For the most active samples, the inhibition corresponds to a theoretical concentration of 5.25 mg flutamide equivalents L−1. In concordance with our findings, Plotan et al. [16] recently reported antiandrogenicity in one third of the analyzed bottled waters. Here, samples inhibited androgen receptor by approximately 15–70% with the highest activity detected in flavored products.

Similar to our previous study [17], an optimization of the extraction procedure was necessary to isolate steroid receptor antagonists from bottled water effectively. This demonstrates that some commonly used sample preparation techniques are either ineffective in extracting EDCs in quest or effective in coextracting estrogens and antiestrogens that mask each other’s effects. Both scenarios produce false-negative results and might explain the inability to detect endocrine activity in bottled water [18].

From a broader perspective, bottled water from six different countries has been found to contain estrogenic [12], [13], [14], [15], [17], antiestrogenic, and antiandrogenic (this study), as well as androgenic, progestagenic, and glucocorticoid-like chemicals [16]. This demonstrates that a popular beverage is contaminated with diverse-acting EDCs. However, none of the causative chemicals has been identified to date, hindering an evaluation of the toxicological relevance of these findings.

Wow, just wow. There is hardly a person in a "developed" country that does not consume at least 3.5mL (the tiny amount they say is sufficient for 90% suppression of androgen receptor) of water that did not come from such an EDC-leeching container.
I'd venture a guess that unless we humans find a way to restrict use of EDC containing materials, we as species are doomed. We are already observing massive decreases in fertility in all developed countries to the point where 1 in 4 young couples cannot beget a child naturally without medical assistance. The same pattern is observed in any country that adopts the "modern" lifestyle and mass use of industrial waste (plastic) products. I don't even have to mention the rates of cancer and virtually all other chronic/degenerative diseases that have been rising relentlessly since the 1950s.

 

[reality]

Is there a list of waters? I drink Evian

 

[Jon2547]

Maybe the best thing to do is get filtered water and store in large 3 to five gallon glass carboys. The five gallon when full is very heavy to carry so I would go with the 3 gallon size.
An in home filtration system would be nice but complicated. So much complication these days.

 

[aniciete]

Maybe the best thing to do is get filtered water and store in large 3 to five gallon glass carboys. The five gallon when full is very heavy to carry so I would go with the 3 gallon size.
An in home filtration system would be nice but complicated. So much complication these days.

Water distillers aren’t complicated at all

 

[Jon2547]

This is true but what minerals to add?

 

[RayIV]

“From a broader perspective, bottled water from six different countries has been found to contain estrogenic [12], [13], [14], [15], [17], antiestrogenic, and antiandrogenic (this study), as well as androgenic, progestagenic, and glucocorticoid-like chemicals [16].”

Incredible, attacking the HPTA on all fronts.

Never heard of any androgenic EDC’s until now. Kind of surprising given the majority of endocrine disrupters seem to be estrogenic and anti-androgenic by nature.

 

[aniciete]

This is true but what minerals to add?

I’ve seen some say that they add magnesium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, and sea salt, and use that as drinking water. Personally I use it for coffees and cooking like peat and roddy.

 

[haidut]

“From a broader perspective, bottled water from six different countries has been found to contain estrogenic [12], [13], [14], [15], [17], antiestrogenic, and antiandrogenic (this study), as well as androgenic, progestagenic, and glucocorticoid-like chemicals [16].”

Incredible, attacking the HPTA on all fronts.

Never heard of any androgenic EDC’s until now. Kind of surprising given the majority of endocrine disrupters seem to be estrogenic and anti-androgenic by nature.

The problem is that reference [16] they cite states this:
"...Interestingly, in many samples that displayed antagonism, agonism was simultaneously observed."
"...The largest number of samples presenting endocrine disrupting activity was detected in the glucocorticoid RGA with more than half of the samples (55%) inducing a positive response (Table 2). Almost all brands (13 out of 14) presented glucocorticoid activity with HEQ activity in the range of 3–81 ng/l (Table 3)."

So, whatever androgenic activity is there gets drowned in glucocorticoid, anti-androgenic and estrogenic effects from other molecules. They also cite a study that used estrogen sensitive cancer cells (MCF-7) and all samples tested increased growth, which suggests that cumulative effect of the EDC cocktail in bottled water is estrogenic.

 

[Jon2547]

I just ordered a water distiller minutes ago and some trace minerals to add in. This is a serious matter.

 

[RayIV]

The problem is that reference [16] they cite states this:
"...Interestingly, in many samples that displayed antagonism, agonism was simultaneously observed."
"...The largest number of samples presenting endocrine disrupting activity was detected in the glucocorticoid RGA with more than half of the samples (55%) inducing a positive response (Table 2). Almost all brands (13 out of 14) presented glucocorticoid activity with HEQ activity in the range of 3–81 ng/l (Table 3)."

So, whatever androgenic activity is there gets drowned in glucocorticoid, anti-androgenic and estrogenic effects from other molecules. They also cite a study that used estrogen sensitive cancer cells (MCF-7) and all samples tested increased growth, which suggests that cumulative effect of the EDC cocktail in bottled water is estrogenic.

I’d agree. Those were kind of my initial thoughts, that the overall effect is largely detrimental (i.e. estrogenic), even if there was some sort of androgenic effect taking place. I’d speculate a guess that even the so called “androgenic” chemicals found here would have a negative impact on health in the long run, whether it be suppression of the HPTA, or possibly increased downstream aromatization, even if they were in isolation from the otherwise estrogenic, glucocorticoid, etc. chemicals. Either way, it’s just bad all around, and not something we should be consuming in our water.

 

[Mauritio]

Thanks for Sharing!
Have you been able to find what brands they used ?

Plastic bottles seem to be the worst

There are some waters that have very low estrogenic activity

Tap water has lower proliferative effects than bottled water

Endocrine disruptors in bottled mineral water: Estrogenic activity in the E-Screen

Human exposure to endocrine disruptors is well documented by biomonitoring data. However, this information is limited to few chemicals like bisphenol …

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[Mauritio]

I’d agree. Those were kind of my initial thoughts, that the overall effect is largely detrimental (i.e. estrogenic), even if there was some sort of androgenic effect taking place. I’d speculate a guess that even the so called “androgenic” chemicals found here would have a negative impact on health in the long run, whether it be suppression of the HPTA, or possibly increased downstream aromatization, even if they were in isolation from the otherwise estrogenic, glucocorticoid, etc. chemicals. Either way, it’s just bad all around, and not something we should be consuming in our water.

Here's a study that cited some amounts.

"Oestrogenic, androgenic, progestagenic and glucocorticoid activity was found in 38%, 38%, 36% and 55% of the samples, respectively at an average concentration of 10 ng/l 17β-estradiol equivalent (EEQ), 26 ng/l testosterone equivalent (TEQ), 123 ng/l progesterone equivalent (PEQ) and 13.5 ng/l hydrocortisone equivalent (HEQ). "

Endocrine disruptor activity in bottled mineral and flavoured water - PubMed

A panel of reporter gene assays (RGAs) coupled with a single solid phase extraction (SPE) step was developed and used to screen bottled mineral water for the presence of four classes of endocrine disruptors (EDs), oestrogens, androgens, progestagens and glucocorticoids. Fourteen brands of...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[laleto12]

damn whats the solution though? stop drinking water

 

[Mauritio]

Here's an interesting article from the german "öko-test" magazine.
I'll link the whole issue below.

First they mention that scientists found micro plastic in human placentas for the first time. 4 out of 6 tested contained micropastic.

They also collected sample sizes of german waters . Plastic version and glass bottles. Surprisingly the glass bottles had on average more microplastic than plastic bottles!
Now the sample size wasnt too big, so I wouldnt jump to any conclusions ,but it certainly means that if you're unlucky you can get a glass bottle that has higher MP-content (up to 10 times higher) than the plastic version of the same brand.

The plastic we get from water might not even be the main source of MP for us. They cite a Norwegian scientist that says we probably inhale more plastic than we eat. Not good.

Also the lids of bottles contain titanium dioxide. Everytime you open the bottle more leeches into the bottle.

They mention tap water as a better alternative when it comes to MP.

Also concerning: they said MP was found in every single food item that was researched so far.

Apparently MP can function as a magnet and bind to carcinogens like PCB.

 

[Jon2547]

Nope, not gonna do tap water. I just ordered a water distiller and trace minerals to add to the finished product.

 

[Kman]

3.75ml is a very small amount of water!

Distillation seems like an obvious way to avoid EDCs, but adding minerals back is a pain, and of course the minerals themselves could have impurities that are also be problematic.

1) Does anyone know of any other trusted sources of water? Are people here fans of the sparkling Italian water that comes in glass bottles? S. Pellagrino etc?

2) Could milk purchased in plastic bottles or cartons be equally problematic? Surely these have similar risks? I suppose arguably the milk is in the bottle/carton for a shorter period of time, and it's also possible that milk may have much less affinity than water for leeching EDCs. Has anyone looked into that?

 

[miquelangeles]

Mystery solved. I recently had been using bottled water, over the last 3 or 4 weeks and noticed problems with the prostate.
Prior this I had been using filter water stored in large plastic 4 gallon jugs. (I know that no plastic is good but the large 4 gallon refills are much better than the smaller plastic bottles. )

I've been using exclusively (plastic) bottled water my whole life. Not just for drinking but also cooking. And I do soups and broths quite often.
And more recently when cooking mushrooms I would use up to 6 liters of bottled water per batch, reducing it to 1 liter through evaporation.
I realized this would concentrate too much BPA in the remaining liquid, so in December I made an experiment and started using only glass bottled water. My decade long prostate issues (BPH symptoms) improved within 24 hours. Then I got covid and interrupted the experiment because I chose to stock up on (plastic) bottled water for convenience. Packs of glass water bottles are quite heavy to carry and it gets expensive too.

Then a few days ago I stumbled upon these studies discussing the other unidentified EDCs which are even more ubiquitous than previously thought and realized it's a real and serious issue.
The tap water in my area is quite good so in the last several days I've been boiling tap water and pouring it through coffee filters into large glass bottles, until I figure out a better alternative such as a distiller or a filtering system.
Obviously it applies to any food packaged or stored in plastic, synthetic carpets, furniture, clothing etc but I believe the bottled water is by far the biggest culprit.
I guess it makes sense to get most of your water from fruit or vegetable juices and milk (from glass bottles).
For many years I lived in a remote tropical country and the locals there were consuming rainwater. But in populated areas the air contamination would make it unsafe I guess. The best option would be a private deep water well, but the pipes used for this are also made of plastic.
I'm not sure if distillation removes EDCs, some sources claim the EDCs are heavier molecules and do not pass into the distilled fraction.
But with distillation at least you are using tap water which is already much lower in EDCs to begin with.


And another interesting story - I have cats and sadly one of them died recently, he was 15 years old.
But about 2 years ago, he stopped drinking bottled water completely, no matter the brand. He wouldn't even touch it. Instead, he would go to the bathroom or kitchen faucets and lick water drops. In the end, I had to give him plain tap water every time. I figured maybe he had some mineral deficiency and he was getting it from the metal pipes. But now I realize it could have been the EDCs making him refuse the bottled water. My other cats are unusually fat despite being on low calorie food, so I'm going to give them boiled tap water as well from now on.

 

[Jon2547]

3.75ml is a very small amount of water!

Distillation seems like an obvious way to avoid EDCs, but adding minerals back is a pain, and of course the minerals themselves could have impurities that are also be problematic.

1) Does anyone know of any other trusted sources of water? Are people here fans of the sparkling Italian water that comes in glass bottles? S. Pellagrino etc?

2) Could milk purchased in plastic bottles or cartons be equally problematic? Surely these have similar risks? I suppose arguably the milk is in the bottle/carton for a shorter period of time, and it's also possible that milk may have much less affinity than water for leeching EDCs. Has anyone looked into that?

Plastic jugs, the type of plastic that milks come in, is very problematic. 20 years ago I was buying water in that type of plastic jug, the type plastic that is not the clear see-thru type. I happened to boil some water in a pot and forgot about it. Once all the water was boiled out, there was a white powder residue in the pot. I tried this experiment several times. That type of plastic is the worst. Any milk I buy now is either in a paper carton or glass bottle (raw).