Prepuberty and puberty are critical periods of maturation
during which hormones orchestrate the development of secondary
sexual characteristics, skeleton and behavior. Estrogen and
testosterone levels during these periods may be disturbed by environmental
stressors from air, water, and food. A large number of
xenobiotics/xenoestrogens couple estrogen receptors at different
efficiency, thus redirecting biological pathways of maturation. The
fact that some agents such as cotinine and fungicides act as aromatase
inhibitors by lowering levels of estrogen and increasing
levels of testosterone