Humic substances,a possible source of environmental goitrogens

The by-products of humic substances (HS), resorcinol, orcinol, phloroglucinol, pyrogallol, 3,4- and 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acids, and ortho- and meta-phthalic acids, have been tested for antithyroid and goitrogenic activities. By two in vitro assays all compounds, except the phthalic acids, were potent inhibitors of the thyroid peroxidase enzyme, and of thyroidal ¹²⁵I uptake and/or its incorporation into thyroid hormones using thyroid slices. Resorcinol in drinking water was goitrogenic as indicated by in vivo assay in rats. These findings, the identification of resorcinol in the water supply of an endemic goiter district in western Colombia, where increased goiter prevalence is associated with watersheds rich in organic matter, and results of elemental analysis of goitrogenic water extracts from the same district showing a composition similar to that of aquatic HS, suggest that HS degradation by-products may play an important role in the etiology of endemic goiter.