Comprehensive assessment of natural estrogens in poultry eggs: Implications for health risks and dietary intervention strategies

Can-Yuan Lin; De-Ming Kong; Jian Gong; Ze-Hua Liu; Zhi Dang; Peng-Ran Guo; Yu-Mei Song; Jin-Yi Sun

doi:10.1016/j.fct.2025.115607

Comprehensive assessment of natural estrogens in poultry eggs: Implications for health risks and dietary intervention strategies

Food Chem Toxicol. 2025 Jun 25:115607. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2025.115607. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Can-Yuan Lin¹, De-Ming Kong², Jian Gong³, Ze-Hua Liu⁴, Zhi Dang², Peng-Ran Guo⁵, Yu-Mei Song⁵, Jin-Yi Sun²

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China; Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
³ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: jiangong@gzhu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China; Key Lab Pollution Control & Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Cluster, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Wastes Pollution Control and Recycling, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: zehualiu@scut.edu.cn.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Science, Guangzhou, 510070, China.

PMID: 40578475
DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2025.115607

Abstract

Poultry eggs are a dietary staple in China, yet their natural estrogen (NE) content remains largely unexplored. This study developed a method to detect 12 NEs in chicken, duck, quail, and pigeon eggs. Eleven NEs were detected in at least one sample, with concentrations of 1.66-15.7 ng/g. Total NEs were highest in duck eggs, followed by chicken eggs, while quail and pigeon eggs had similar levels. The estimated daily intake was highest for duck eggs (3.32 ng/kg bw/d), followed by chicken eggs (3.09 ng/kg bw/d) and quail/pigeon eggs (1.56 ng/kg bw/d). Estrogen equivalents indicated that duck eggs posed the greatest risk. Four common NEs exceeded the children's safety threshold of 0.1 ngE2/d/person, and the less-studied metabolites 16/17epiE3 levels exceeded this value by 3-/6-fold. Library Docking (LibDock) scores and 2D-QSAR analysis identified 16/17epiE3 as the most harmful to children's health. Supplementation with vitamins B2 and B12 significantly reduced the LibDock scores of 16/17epiE3, suggesting a potential strategy to mitigate their estrogenic effects. This pioneering study assesses emerging endocrine-disrupting compounds, NEs in poultry eggs, emphasizing the importance of addressing less-studied NEs. These findings enhance food safety measures to protect public health, and research on NEs in animal foods.

Keywords: Dietary intervention; Emerging endocrine-disrupting compounds; Health risk; Natural estrogen metabolites; Poultry eggs.