Estrogenic and Antiestrogenic Activities of Phytoalexins from Red Kidney Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Legumes are the predominant source of isoflavones considered to be phytoestrogens that mimic the hormone 17β-estradiol (E2). Due to the risks associated with hormone replacement therapy, there is a growing need for alternative sources of estrogenic formulations for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Legume phytoalexins (induced isoflavones) are produced under conditions of stress that include insect damage, wounding, or application of elicitors. The estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities of methanolic extracts obtained from red kidney bean treated with the fungus Aspergillus sojae were compared with those of untreated controls using an estrogen responsive element-based (ERE) luciferase reporter assay. A. sojae-treated red kidney bean extracts displayed both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities. Analysis of elicitor-treated red kidney bean extracts showed that A. sojae treatments achieved maximal levels of kievitone at 1199 ± 101 μg/g and phaseollin at 227.8 ± 44 μg/g. The phytoalexins kievitone and phaseollin were isolated from A. sojae-treated red kidney bean extracts and analyzed for estrogenic activity using ERα and ERβ binding, ERE luciferase assays in MCF-7 and HEK 293 cells, and MCF-7 cell proliferation. Kievitone showed the highest relative binding affinity to ERα with kievitone (0.48%) > phaseollin (0.21%), and phaseollin showed the highest relative binding affinity to ERβ with phaseollin (0.53%) > kievitone (0.42%). In an ERE luciferase assay in MCF-7 cells, kievitone displayed high ER transactivation at 10 μM; phaseollin displayed low ER transactivation. Both kievitone and phaseollin stimulated MCF-7 cell proliferation, with kievitone displaying agonist activity between 0.1 and 10 μM. Cotransfection reporter assays performed in HEK 293 demonstrated that phaseollin selectively increased ERE transcriptional activity of ERβ and kievitone selectively increased ERE transcriptional activity of ERα. Although phaseollin displayed attenuation of ER transactivation in the ERE luciferase assay in MCF-7 cells, both phytoalexins attenuated the effects of E2 in an MCF-7 cell colonial survival assay. This work provides evidence that the red kidney bean phytoalexins kievitone and phaseollin possess both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities.