Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Feeding on Phytoestrogens - Implications for Red Colobus Monkey Physiological Ecology

博士论文改进：以植物雌激素为食——对红疣猴生理生态学的影响

• 批准号: 0823651
• 负责人: Katharine Milton
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0823651&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Feeding; Phytoestrogens

For millennia, plant species containing chemicals that alter the vertebrate endocrine system have been consumed by humans for nutritional or medicinal purposes. However, the importance of these plant chemicals, such as phytoestrogens, to human and non-human primate ecology and evolution remains unclear and largely unstudied. Phytoestrogens, defined as naturally occurring plant compounds similar in function and/or structure to endogenous vertebrate estrogens, are present in the domesticated crop foods of many cultures and have been shown to impact both reproductive and stress physiology in captive rodents and primates. Yet, little information exists on the prevalence of phytoestrogens in wild plant species and their potential impact on free-ranging, non-human primates. Because more than 99% of human history has relied on a hunter-gatherer subsistence strategy mainly dependent on wild plant-based foods, investigating the prevalence of phytoestrogens in wild plants is necessary to improve our understanding of human origins. Furthermore, the nutritional environment in which human ancestors evolved can be best reconstructed by studying living non-human primates in a natural setting, especially East African primates with a plant-based diet. Since phytoestrogens likely had a significant influence on the evolution of both human and non-human primate physiology and behavior, this project will take a deeper look at the relationship between these plant compounds and the primates ingesting them by examining their role in the physiological ecology of the Uganda red colobus monkey (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles). This will be accomplished by answering three main questions: 1) How prevalent are phytoestrogens in the tropical forest tree community? 2) Does the presence of phytoestrogens influence diet choice in red colobus monkeys? 3) Does the ingestion of phytoestrogens impact stress or sex steroid levels in red colobus individuals? These questions will be addressed by collecting feeding behavior data and fecal samples from one group of red colobus during a 12-month study in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Food and non-food plant species will be screened for estrogenic activity via bioassays and HPLC analysis, and steroid hormone content (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol) of fecal samples from 28 individually known adults will be quantified via immunoassays. Using this data, the relationship between phytoestrogen content of plant items, primate feeding behavior, and steroid hormone levels will be examined. By combining methodology from the fields of primatology, ecology, endocrinology, and nutritional chemistry, this project will provide information that contributes to a deeper understanding of human and non-human primate biology. Additional benefits for society include improved knowledge relevant to the public health issue of the effects of phytoestrogen consumption on human welfare. Discussions of the costs and benefits of phytoestrogen consumption in human diet are currently very popular in the medical literature. Herbal treatments found in drugstores, along with soy and soy-based products, can contain high levels of these compounds. An accurate understanding of the potential impacts of phytoestrogen consumption on public health will be greatly aided by a Darwinian medical approach.

几千年来，含有改变脊椎动物内分泌系统的化学物质的植物物种一直被人类用于营养或药用目的。 然而，这些植物化学物质，如植物雌激素，对人类和非人类灵长类动物的生态和进化的重要性仍然不清楚，在很大程度上未被研究。 植物雌激素，定义为在功能和/或结构上与内源性脊椎动物雌激素相似的天然存在的植物化合物，存在于许多文化的驯化作物食物中，并且已被证明影响圈养啮齿动物和灵长类动物的生殖和应激生理。 然而，关于野生植物中植物雌激素的流行及其对自由放养的非人灵长类动物的潜在影响的信息很少。 由于超过99%的人类历史依赖于狩猎采集者的生存策略，主要依赖于野生植物为基础的食物，调查野生植物中植物雌激素的流行是必要的，以提高我们对人类起源的理解。 此外，人类祖先进化的营养环境可以通过在自然环境中研究活着的非人类灵长类动物，特别是以植物为基础饮食的东非灵长类动物来重建。 由于植物雌激素可能对人类和非人类灵长类动物的生理和行为的进化产生了重大影响，因此本项目将通过检查它们在乌干达红疣猴（Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles）的生理生态学中的作用，深入研究这些植物化合物与灵长类动物摄入它们之间的关系。 这将通过回答三个主要问题来完成：1）植物雌激素在热带森林树木群落中有多普遍？ 2)植物雌激素的存在是否影响红疣猴的饮食选择？ 3)摄入植物雌激素是否会影响红疣猴个体的压力或性类固醇水平？ 这些问题将通过在乌干达基巴莱国家公园进行为期12个月的研究期间收集一组红疣猴的摄食行为数据和粪便样本来解决。 将通过生物测定和HPLC分析筛选食用和非食用植物物种的雌激素活性，并通过免疫测定对来自28个单独已知成年人的粪便样本的类固醇激素含量（雌二醇、孕酮、睾酮和皮质醇）进行定量。 利用这些数据，植物雌激素含量的植物项目，灵长类动物的摄食行为，类固醇激素水平之间的关系将被检查。 通过结合灵长类动物学，生态学，内分泌学和营养化学领域的方法，该项目将提供有助于更深入了解人类和非人类灵长类动物生物学的信息。 对社会的其他好处包括提高对植物雌激素消费对人类福利影响的公共卫生问题的认识。 在人类饮食中消耗植物雌激素的成本和效益的讨论目前在医学文献中非常流行。药店里的草药治疗，沿着大豆和豆制品，都含有大量的这些化合物。 准确理解植物雌激素消费对公共卫生的潜在影响将大大有助于达尔文医学方法。