The inhibitory effects of various flavonoids on human 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta(5)-Delta(4)-isomerase type II (3beta-HSD type II), over-expressed in baculovirus, were investigated, and the structure-inhibition relationship was examined. The isoflavone derivatives daidzein, genistein, formononetin and biochanin A inhibited 3beta-HSD type II activity at a concentration of 10 muM and of these, genistein was the most potent inhibitor. 6-Hydroxyflavone (6-HF), a synthetic flavone, also strongly inhibited 3beta-HSD activity but 5-HF, 7-HF and other natural flavones were less potent. Energy minimization structures of the flavonoids, as produced using MOE software, showed that isoflavones and flavones have an almost flat A-C ring structure, and that flavonoids that acted as inhibitors had similar steric structures to DHEA. Genistein, 6-HF and cyanoketone, which is known as a typical 3beta-HSD inhibitor, were found to act as competitive inhibitors with K-i values of 0.12 muM 0.19 muM and 0.67 muM, respectively. Furthermore, the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO)) values, as calculated using WinMOPAC (Fujitsu, Japan), of the inhibitors were correlated with the IC50 values (r(2) = 0.84). Front these results, it appears that inhibitory effects of flavonoids are due to the combination of steric structure and electron affinity between the active center of 3beta-HSD type II and the flavonoid molecule. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.