Abstract
Most steroid hormones are eventually taken up by the liver cells, often reduced in ring A, always conjugated with glucuronic and/or sulfuric acid, and excreted into the bile. In the gut, the conjugates of steroid hormones are deconjugated by intestinal and bacterial glucuronidases and bacterial sulfatases and can be modified by other bacterial enzymes. Most of the steroids are reabsorbed and returned to the liver (enterohepatic circulation). Bacterial desulfation is necessary for reabsorption of sulfated steroids. Elimination of the desulfating intestinal bacterial strains in rats leads to a reduced reabsorption of estrone, and administration of antibiotics to pregnant women decreased plasma estriol levels. From the rat and human intestinal flora, we isolated a number of bacterial strains capable of steroid desulfation.
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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Van Eldere, J., Robben, J., Eyssen, H. (1987). Steroid Desulfation by the Gut Microflora. In: De Clercq, E. (eds) Frontiers in Microbiology. New Perspectives in Clinical Microbiology, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3353-8_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3353-8_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8006-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3353-8
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