Abstract
The small amounts of oestrogen present in the ovary and initial inability to assay oestrogenic activity were major impediments to the isolation of these hormones. The development of a simple assay and the discovery of high levels of the hormones in urine during pregnancy led to both their isolation and commercial extraction. A variety of synthetic compounds were also found to exhibit oestrogenic activity. This review examines the discovery of both the natural and synthetic oestrogens.
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